Posted Wednesday, May 2, 2012 --- 11:16 a.m.

APPLETON, Wis. (AP) -- A former Appleton police chief will step into the middle of the Trayvon Martin case in Florida.

Richard Myers has been appointed interim police chief of Sanford, Fla. Myers will begin his job in Sanford at the end of the week. Myers was Appleton's chief for nearly 12 years and left in 2007 to head the police department in Colorado Springs, Colo. He retired last fall.

Sanford's current chief, Bill Lee, stepped aside from his job to let emotions cool after Martin's death. The 17-year-old was fatally shot in February by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who claimed self-defense. The lack of an arrest for 44 days led to nationwide protests about the handling of the racially-charged case.

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.