UPDATE: Mayor Thomas M. Menino today appointed Superintendent William B. Evans to Interim Police Commissioner of the Boston Police Department.

After seven years at the helm of the Boston Police Department, Ed Davis is stepping down today. While speculation abounds as to the future of Boston’s stoic watchdog, the Lowell native has given little indication as to what’s next for him and his family. What we do know for sure is that Davis acted as a beacon of hope during times of intense turmoil and will surely be missed by Bostonians citywide.

It was back in September when Ed Davis hosted a press conference to let the city know he would no longer be in charge of its police department. “Its time to try other things,” he told the collective media. He has since been offered positions as a consultant with Community Resources for Justice as well as a fellowship at Harvard’s Institute of Politics. He accepted both.

After all, he told the Boston Herald, “I might have another police department in me at some point in time, but I’m really looking at the private sector right now for a couple of years.”

For the millennial generation of Boston not as well versed in the history of the city’s civic servants, Ed Davis was instantly propelled into the sphere of household recognition back in April when two bombs were detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring over 260. The period following the tragedy could only be described as chaotic and ominous for those residing in the Greater Boston area, for it was days before any suspect was taken into custody – and at that point, really, when all the questions began.

For those tuning in and for the locals under municipal lockdown, most would agree that media coverage was unreliable and unpredictable. But it was Ed Davis who acted as a stalwart of justice and resilience, a bastion of hope when it seemed we would live in fear of the suspects indefinitely. His periodic addresses to the press and viewers were succinct though eloquent, providing just enough information to ease our anxieties without compromising the integrity of the investigation.

With that event behind us but not forgotten, and wounds still healing, Ed Davis is held in high regard with many. And that popularity may help him segue into a new position where his intangibles will be put to good use.

Still, aside from the two gigs he’s recently landed, his long-term future is still up in the air.

As he continued to the Herald, “I have some options and I’m sifting through them, and hopefully in the next four to eight weeks, I’ll come up with a plan and I’ll tell you about it.”

Before joining the BPD via an appointment secured from Mayor Tom Menino, Davis upheld the position of Superintendent of Police for the Lowell Police Department from 1994-2006. According to The Heritage Foundation, crime under Davis’s tenure leading the Lowell PD was reduced the fastest of any other city with a population of more than 100,000 from 1994-1999. He brought a very similar statistic to Boston, reducing serious crimes by 18 percent and shootings by 40 percent in his first three years atop the BPD.

We look forward to hearing where you end up, Mr. Davis. But in the meantime, thank you for your dedicated, steadfast service to the city of Boston and congratulations on your accomplishments.