Shawnee Police Chief Takes Florida Post

SHAWNEE, Okla. (AP) -- The police chief of Shawnee is already moving on.<br/><br/>42-year-old Mike Chitwood has taken a position as chief of police in Daytona Beach, Florida.<br/><br/>Chitwood left the

Thursday, May 11th 2006, 6:19 am

By: News On 6

SHAWNEE, Okla. (AP) -- The police chief of Shawnee is already moving on.

42-year-old Mike Chitwood has taken a position as chief of police in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Chitwood left the Philadelphia Police Department as a high-ranking homicide detective about a year ago to take the job in Shawnee. His last day in Shawnee is May 23rd and he starts his new job May 30th.

Chitwood says it's not a secret that his big goal is to lead a large department. He says that if a job ever came open in Tulsa or Oklahoma City, he'd jump at the chance to come back to Oklahoma.

Chitwood will assume responsibility over 250 police officers, 109 reserve officers and 81 support staff in Daytona Beach, a city of about 65,000 people.

He will oversee a $26-million annual budget, compared with Shawnee's $6-million budget for its 52-officer police department.