Eureka Police Chief Garr Nielsen was fired this morning. Initially reported on the Humboldt Herald blog, Nielsen's termination was confirmed by the former chief himself in the Times-Standard.

"It's completely out of the blue," he told the T-S. "It caught me completely off guard."

Nielsen had been in the running for the chief of police position in Bend, Ore., but he found out Thursday that he didn't make the final cut, the T-S reports.

Update, 2 p.m.: City Manager David Tyson confirmed that he notified Nielsen of his termination, effective immediately, this morning at 11. Tyson said firing Nielsen was his own decision but added that he could not discuss any details or identify the reason(s) for that decision since it is a personnel matter.

Captain Murl Harpham has been named interim chief. The process of recruiting and hiring a new chief will likely take about six months and will begin with asking the council and the public what they want in a chief of police, Tyson said.