The police chief of a small Eastern Shore town that was recently roiled by the in-custody death of an African-American teenager is stepping down.
After 19-year-old Anton Black died in September following a police chase, the Greensboro force found itself under an intense microscope and the subject of blistering criticism.
Chief Mike Petyo says his decision to leave the Greensboro department has nothing to do with the scandal that’s enveloped his department in recent weeks. He is going back to work for a department in Delaware, where he and his family still live. He declined to share which force he’s joining.
He says the Delaware department is in a growing city and comes with better benefits. The move has been in the works since November.
“The fact of the matter is,” Petyo said, “I got a better opportunity in Delaware.”
Thursday is Petyo’s last day in Greensboro, a town of about 1,800 people in Caroline County.
