NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) -- The police chief who led Newtown's response to the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 people dead is retiring.

The Newtown Police Commission accepted a letter of retirement Tuesday night from Police Chief Michael Kehoe, who has led the Connecticut department for 14 years.  Kehoe plans to retire in January.

The 60-year-old Kehoe was among those who responded to the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting.  A review of the response by the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association found the department responded quickly and appropriately to the shooting.

Two members of the department, Sgt. Steven Santucci and dispatcher Jason Chiklos, were charged last month with distributing steroids inside the police station.

Kehoe told the Newtown Bee that his decision to retire had nothing to do with those arrests.