Mike Chitwood

Mike Chitwood
Official portrait, c. 2017
BornNovember 1963[1]
NationalityAmerican
Known forPolice reform, anti-Nazi activity
Political partyIndependent
FatherMike Chitwood Sr.

Michael Jude Chitwood[2] (born November 1963)[1] is an American law enforcement officer who currently serves as the sheriff of Volusia County, Florida.

Chitwood served as chief of police in the Daytona Beach Police Department from 2006 to 2016. He became the sheriff of Volusia County in 2017, after which he conducted police reform with the goal of reducing use-of-force and bias among officers. In 2021, Chitwood disavowed Donald Trump after the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[3] In 2023, he was targeted by antisemitic activists inside and outside the state of Florida following his statements denouncing the anti-Jewish hate group Goyim Defense League.

History

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Chitwood is the son of Mike Chitwood Sr., Chitwood Sr began his law-enforcement career as a Philadelphia police officer in 1964 and was one of Philadelphia’s most highly decorated officers. He’s served as police chief in Middletown, Bucks County, Portland, Maine, and as Police Superintendent in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania.[4][3] Chitwood Jr. served as a lieutenant in the Philadelphia Police Department and joined the Daytona Beach Police Department as police chief in 2006, where he worked for ten years until he was elected Volusia County sheriff in 2016. He subsequently assumed office in 2017.[4][3][5]

Police reform

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Chitwood began implementing reformist measures in Volusia County in January 2017. Since then, he implemented classes on police bias and de-escalation techniques. He also deemphasized weapon proficiency in the training of new recruits and gave "tactical de-escalation" medals to deputies who used non-violent tactics to resolve conflict.[4][6] According to NBC, the frequency of deputies' use-of-force in the county fell from 122 to 65 between 2017 and 2019.[7] During the same period, the annual number of arrests fell to 9,370, representing a 30% decrease.[8]

In 2020, Chitwood implemented a crisis intervention training for new officers in Volusia County with the goal of decreasing use-of-force and "warrior mentality" in police operations. The project was influenced by Scottish police reform group Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).[7][8][9]

In the same period, he equipped detectives and the SWAT team of Volusia County with body cameras. In his response to a survey conducted by PERF, he advocated for an extended role of police outside law-enforcement in order to increase public trust in police officers.[10]

Activity against antisemitic groups

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Early in 2023, following a spike of antisemitic activity in Florida, with anti-Jewish banners being held by neo-Nazi group Goyim Defense League at the Daytona International Speedway, Chitwood began addressing the group on press conferences and social media.[11][12][3][13]

In a February news conference, he called the Goyim Defense League "a radical group of scumbags" and announced plans to erect a billboard in Georgia featuring one of its members' mugshot. He also called neo-Nazi activist Jon Minadeo, who had distributed antisemitic flyers in the state and called a Black police officer a "nigger" in West Palm, a "failed actor, failed rapper and failed dishwasher". Following Chitwood's statements on the group, members of Goyim Defense League started distributing flyers displaying a picture of Chitwood wearing a bikini top. The picture was originally taken at a Daytona beach Jokey fashion show to raise money to combat breast cancer.[11][3]

Subsequently, police agencies started investigating anonymous death threats made against Chitwood on 4chan. The investigations initially resulted in the arrests of three people outside the state of Florida, one of whom was in possession of firearms and ammunition.[11][3] In late 2023, an Alaskan double-murder suspect was indicted by a grand jury after allegedly threatening to "blind and kill" Chitwood.[14][15] In total, six men have been arrested in 2023 over alleged threats directed at the sheriff.[16]

Political views

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Chitwood is a registered independent and is a religious Catholic. He voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 United States presidential elections[3] and has expressed support for Ron DeSantis.[17] Chitwood disavowed Trump after the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[3]

Chitwood has made positive remarks about Black Lives Matter and has been supportive of the Blue Lives Matter movement.[3] He has been endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.[4] Chitwood has been described as "pro-immigrant" and "pro-gun" by a PBS piece.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Sheriff Michael J. Chitwood Bio | VSO". Volusia's Sheriff. 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  2. ^ "Behind the badge: Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood". News 13. 2014. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Paquette, Danielle (April 20, 2023). "The Florida sheriff vs. the neo-Nazi 'scumbags'". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ a b c d Weichselbaum, Simone (2018-01-23). "How a pro-Trump county elected a pro-immigrant reformer as sheriff". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  5. ^ Saladna, Gene (2022-08-27). "Sheriff Mike Chitwood looks to get even more 'chatty' with new podcast". WFTV. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  6. ^ Jackman, Tom (June 2021). "Amid rising police violence, New York City police to train entire force in de-escalation". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ a b Orecchio-Egresitz, Haven (June 2020). "A Florida sheriff credits Scottish police training techniques with a drop in use of force cases in his county". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  8. ^ a b Marx, Willem (2020-06-24). "A Florida sheriff adopted Scottish police training. Now his deputies use force less often". NBC News. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  9. ^ Baker, Al (2015-12-11). "U.S. Police Leaders, Visiting Scotland, Get Lessons on Avoiding Deadly Force". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
  10. ^ Nickeas, Peter (2020-12-08). "Here's what police chiefs think Biden should do to help address issues with law enforcement". CNN. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  11. ^ a b c Lynch, Jamiel (2023-04-22). "Arrests made in online threats against Florida sheriff who took a stand against antisemitism in his county". CNN. Archived from the original on 2023-04-23. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  12. ^ "Antisemites Gather in Florida for Weekend of Hate". Anti-Defamation League. February 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-02-20. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  13. ^ Lapin, Andrew. "A Florida sheriff is on the warpath against neo-Nazi 'scumbags' who want him dead". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2023-05-02. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  14. ^ "Alaska murder suspect accused of threatening to kill Central Florida sheriff". Yahoo News. 2023-09-27. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  15. ^ "Double-murder suspect accused of targeting Volusia sheriff with 'lasers that could blind for life': indictment". FOX 35 Orlando. 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  16. ^ "Who are the men threatening Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood and where are they now?". Yahoo News. 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  17. ^ Nazaryan, Alexander (2020-07-09). "Florida sheriff wins battle with DeSantis administration over coronavirus data". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 2020-07-09. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  18. ^ Carlos Frey, John (2018-01-23). "Meet the pro-gun, pro-immigrant sheriff bringing police reform to Trump country". PBS NewsHour. Archived from the original on 2018-01-24.
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