Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Richard L. Bean, the embattled director of Knox County’s juvenile detention center, is stepping down from his role at the facility.

That, according to Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs who released a statement Friday afternoon confirming that Bean was no longer the head of his namesake detention center. In it, Jacobs says Bean did the right thing, given recent accusations that he’d fired two employees for whistleblowing to the state about operations at the center.

“Richard Bean dedicated a large portion of his life serving and assisting the troubled youth in our community. That’s something we should never forget.

In the end, he recognized that the best way to continue helping was to step aside, and that’s what he did.

There is a reason his name is on that building, and when people drive by and see it, I hope they will remember Richard as I do – a man who made some mistakes, like all of us do, but, in the end, chose to do the right thing. – Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs

Jacobs said Thursday that Bean had fired an IT employee and the center’s only nurse, prompting action from the county. Bean later agreed to reinstate those employees, Jacobs said.