Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood is running for Volusia County sheriff. Chitwood made the announcement Monday morning. He’s been the top cop in Daytona Beach for 10 years.
“My department has great community relations, I don’t care what your race is, I don’t care what your religion is, we have built something here really special with our community and I think I can do that countywide,” said Chitwood.
Chitwood has been a cop for 28 years and says he had never expected to run for elected office. But he says the time is right and he plans to be out on his bike, answering calls, and getting the public to help reduce crime.
“You watch CSI and in 30 minutes or 40 minutes that crime is solved. That’s not how it works in the real world. In the real world, 99 percent of the crime is solved because the community gets involved,” said Chitwood.
Chitwood said for now he’s not resigning his police chief post to run his campaign. Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson is not seeking re-election after 16 years in office.