GREENWOOD, Ind. --
The Greenwood police chief has been removed from the department over his handling of an officer accused of drunkenly arguing with a man in public.
Greenwood Mayor Charles Henderson announced Friday that Chief Joe Pitcher was no longer with the department and that Assistant Chief David Mertz had resigned, 6News' Joanna Massee reported.
Henderson said he did not like the way Pitcher and Mertz handled the investigation of Officer Nick Dine in November.
Dine was accused of unholstering his gun and making disparaging comments toward a man who questioned the officer about leaving a baby in his vehicle when he was off-duty.
When police arrived, an officer said he smelled alcohol on Dine and asked him to submit to a portable breath test, but Dine refused, police said.
Henderson originally removed Pitcher from the investigation after he said he told officers to bring Dine to his house for counseling, but then offered him a drink.
Pitcher, who had been drinking at the time, said he was trying to test Dine, Henderson said.
An internal police investigation found that Dine violated city rules and department policies, but Pitcher dropped administrative charges against Dine, Henderson said.
"I can only apologize for the fact that I had somebody in there that let these things happen and I'm fixing it," Henderson said. "I'm the mayor and I appoint the chief, so I have to take accountability."
The Greenwood Merit Commission will now conduct its own investigation into Dine's actions.
Henderson said he felt Pitcher had an issue with a commission and that he was not good about sending them disciplinary information about officers.
Pitcher failed to respond to a subpoena issued by the commission last week. He said he was out of town when it was placed on his desk.
Henderson said he will begin a search for a new chief and assistant chief.
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