The Prince George’s County Police’s District 1 commander retired Friday — the same day that two more of his officers were suspended during an investigation of their conduct during last month’s riot in College Park.

But Maj. Daniel Dusseau told The Washington Post his decision to step down had nothing to do with the internal investigation of the department or allegations of police brutality, saying he was moving to a position in the private sector.

“My retirement and movement to another job is something I’ve been working on since I was eligible to retire and has nothing to do with the incidents going on in College Park,” Dusseau told The Post.

County police spokesman Maj. Andrew Ellis said the county’s special operations division had assumed responsibility for the “civil disturbance” in downtown College Park on March 4 following the Terrapin men’s basketball team victory over Duke’s men’s basketball team. Dusseau was not in charge of the officers at the time, although Ellis said he was in the area.

A total of four county officers have been suspended after a video surfaced that appeared to show several officers beating an unresisting student.

Ellis added that Dusseau had been working on finding another job since the end of last year and that his retirement was not in related to the post-riot aftermath. Ellis would not say where Dusseau will work within the private sector.

Dusseau did not return phone calls last night.

The department has yet to officially name candidates for Dusseau’s replacement, Ellis said, but noted many majors in the district would be qualified to take over as its commander. Capt. Cesar Pacheco is serving as the district’s interim commander.

Local officials said the next District 1 commander will need to be up to the challenge of working in neighborhoods with high crime rates and diverse populations — in addition to the implications of having a flagship university in the middle of their district.

“He’s got a hell of a task in front of him in this particular district,” District 2 city councilman Jack Perry said.

This particular district needs a special touch, Ellis added.

“A one-size-fits-all approach will not work in the Hyattsville district,” Ellis said.

Dusseau, who assumed the role of commander last April, replaced Lt. Col. Kevin Davis as the District 1 commander, at which time he told The Diamondback that he would try to educate students to keep them out of danger rather than trying to “arrest our way out of problems.” Davis had held the post since 2005.

The district came under fire last Monday after the attorney for a student who had been charged in the riot’s aftermath produced a video that appeared to show his client, John McKenna, 21, being struck — apparently unprovoked — by three police officers for about 30 seconds.

“It will take a strong leader to get past this,” District 3 city councilwoman Stephanie Stullich said. “Something like this undermines confidence in the police.”

Only one of the four suspended officers has been identified: Sean McAleavey, who filed the charging documents against McKenna.

The others have not been named because federal, state and county authorities are still investigating discrepancies between the video and the charging documents — the documents accuse McKenna of assaulting police officers and horses while the video merely shows the student dancing toward the officers and then being beaten.

Police are commonly stationed in College Park after sporting events, as they were on March 3, in preparation for postgame disturbances.

“We knew that there was a possibility” of a civil disturbance, Ellis said. “We had already planned to have officers standing by.”

But he added that student behavior doesn’t typically provoke a reaction like the one which followed the Duke win.

“More often than not, we have officers standing by and they just end up going home because there’s no need,” he said.

Despite the controversy surrounding the beating incident, University Police spokesman Paul Dillon said he was satisfied with Dusseau’s tenure at District 1.

Dusseau performed his duties well while he was responsible for the district, Dillon said, and credited good communication skills and even temperament as keys to his success.

“We’re going to miss him,” Dillon said. “He did a great job as far as the university was concerned.”

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