DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — There’s a new sheriff in Volusia County, and he’s already very familiar to residents.
Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood is trading his blues for green. Chitwood won the office Tuesday night.
He will take over Volusia County’s top law enforcement spot Jan. 1 and will replace Sheriff Ben Johnson, who backed the other candidate, but still said Chitwood is fit for the job.
“Mike was picked by the people and I have no issue with that,” Johnson said. “Contrary to what a lot of people think, Mike and I actually like each other.”
Chitwood said before he makes any changes, he wants to spend some time with his new staff.
“I’m going to ask that everybody with the rank of lieutenant and above to submit resumes to me, because there (are) a lot of folks that I don’t know,” Chitwood said.
He said he wants more diversity in hiring, to get deputies training on de-escalating techniques and to equip deputies with body cameras.
The Daytona Beach city manager will be in charge of hiring a new police chief.
A city spokesperson said the city manager has not yet decided if it will be a national search or if someone from the department will be promoted.
Cox Media Group
