EAST PROVIDENCE — Police Chief Hubert Paquette has announced that he will retire from the department on Friday.

Paquette was appointed chief in late 2003 after 20 years in the department ranks. He succeeded Norman J. Miranda Jr., who left to become Rehoboth’s police chief.

Lt. Charles Swansen referred questions about Paquette’s successor to City Manager Richard Brown, who could not be reached for comment Sunday night. The Times, of Pawtucket, reported that the interim chief will be Maj. Donald R. Dubois.

The city’s unionized police officers twice voted no confidence in Paquette, in February and the previous March. Concerns cited last year centered on a lack of communication between management and ranking officers and disputed disciplinary actions.

The chief was also criticized for belatedly trying to fend off criticism of city officers for the Feb. 27, 2008, death of Leonel Farias. Farias, a 40-year-old man with schizophrenia, died after a violent struggle with the officers. Paquette didn’t defend the officers until a news conference days after the incident.