DETROIT — Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, who was appointed by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, announced her retirement Thursday through a news release minutes after  Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to two felonies and agreed to resign.

Assistant Chief Ralph Godbee and Assistant Chief Robert Dunlap will handle the affairs of the Detroit Police Department until a new chief is named.

Her retirement leaves the neighboring cities of Detroit and Dearborn both without a chief of police. Longtime Dearborn Police Chief Michael Celeski died of a heart attack in July.

Bully-Cummings has said she told the Mayor she was retiring earlier this week. Her retirement is effective immediately.

She has agreed to assist her successor to enable a smooth transition of leadership within the Department.

There is no word yet on who will be named the permanent Detroit police chief.

Two names that have immediately come up among reporters and analysts speculating on a possible successor are Former Deputy Police Chief Gary Brown and Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans.

Brown filed a police whistleblower lawsuit in 2003, which led to Kilpatrick’s downfall. Kilpatrick admitted Thursday to lying about having an extramarital affair and providing misleading testimony about Brown’s firing after he lead an investigation into actions of the mayor’s bodyguards.

Bully-Cummings joined the department in 1977 at the age of 19. She replaced former Chief Jerry Oliver on Nov. 3, 2003. Oliver left amid a scandal stemming from a gun being found in his luggage at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

“As I move forward to the next chapter of my life, I look forward to spending time with my husband and my family, who have sacrificed so much the past five years,” Bully-Cummings said Thursday.

“My desire was based upon my family’s needs. I’ve delayed being with my family.”

“The men and women of the Detroit Police Department would like to thank Chief Bully-Cummings for her years of dedicated service to the Department as well as her guidance and wish her well in all future endeavors,” Detroit Police  spokesman James Tate said in a statement.