Mike Chitwood

Michael Jude Chitwood (born November 30, 1963) is an American politician and law enforcement officer who currently serves as the sheriff of Volusia County, Florida. He previously served as chief of police of the Daytona Beach Police Department from 2006 to 2016 and as chief of police of the Shawnee, Oklahoma, Police Department from 2005 to 2006. Chitwood is currently a registered independent. In 2016, he was elected Volusia County sheriff. Since assuming office, Chitwood has maintained many public feuds with state prosecutors, judges, and politicians. In 2019, Chitwood was reprimanded by Seventh Judicial Circuit Court chief judge Raul Zambrano for interfering with the judiciary and baselessly smearing circuit court judge Michael Hutcheson. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chitwood strongly advocated vaccine mandates. Chitwood left the Republican Party in 2020 and disavowed Donald Trump after the January 6 United States Capitol attack. He had a deeply controversial tenure while leading the department. He was succeeded as chief of police by Deputy Chief Craig Capri.

Controversies Chitwood's tenure as police chief was continually mired in controversy. In one incident, Chitwood referred to Volusia County sheriff Ben Johnson as a "moron" during a public meeting. Sheriff Johnson said through a spokesman he would not dignify Chitwood's insult with a comment.

On December 20, 2007, Daytona Beach police officer Claudia Wright tasered Best Buy customer Elizabeth Beeland in front of a store full of customers. A store clerk had called police thinking Beeland was using a stolen credit card, which turned out not to be the case. Beeland was backing away from Wright when she was tasered. Police Chief Mike Chitwood defended his officer's actions. Wright was also investigated for interfering in a narcotics investigation in 2009. Wright was arrested in 2010 on three felony charges for fraud and forgery for allegedly defrauding her own grandmother.

In 2012, patrol supervisor Jim Newcomb was promoted to the position of captain. This promotion was met with objections from the police union over his controversial past, which includes the wrongful firing of a lesbian officer and year-long harassment of another female officer.

After a heavily publicized incident on the campus of the historically black Bethune–Cookman University, in which DBPD chief Chitwood was alleged to have made racist comments, the NAACP asked US attorney general Eric Holder to probe Chitwood’s "racially tinged" comments about the disturbance. A recent spate of murders in the black community, including the death of a 13-year-old boy who was shot in the face, have led some to blame the DBPD's moving the police headquarters from Orange Avenue, in the black community, to Valor Boulevard, in a culturally-mixed suburban area of Daytona Beach. When asked about the possibility of placing a police substation in the area, Chitwood responded that substations were "a monument for cops to sit on their ass and don’t do anything". He was re-elected unopposed to a second term in 2020. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chitwood strongly advocated vaccine mandates.

Chitwood was re-elected to a third term in 2024, defeating Republican opponent James Powers. The Volusia County Republican Party did not support Powers due to his criminal record.

Controversies After the state-wide referendum, Amendment 10, the Volusia County Council voted 6-1 to stay the amendment temporarily. Chitwood, a leading proponent of Amendment 10, called the councilmembers "scumbags" and accused them of corruption. He allegedly contacted the FBI about his concerns, however, Chitwood refused to provide any details and the FBI did not confirm the meeting occurred.

In 2021, Chitwood established his own training academy for recruits of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, rather than sending them to the state training academy all other recruits in Florida attend.

In 2024, Chitwood received national attention for perp walking and posting mugshots of children who had been arrested for making school shooting threats. His actions were characterized by Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute as "vindictive" and a "publicity stunt harmful to children". In 2025, a man was arrested for threatening Chitwood’s life in response to the shaming of the arrested juveniles.

Chitwood endorsed auto salesman Randy Dye, father of stock car racing driver Daniel Dye, for Volusia County Council chair in 2024. In November 2024, incumbent Volusia County chair Jeff Brower accused Chitwood of being a "bully" and called for "a new sheriff". In response Chitwood called Brower "feckless [and] ineffective". Brower defeated Dye in the general election despite being significantly outspent in the campaign.

Notable events In 2017, Chitwood began implementing reformist measures to reduce the size and scope of law enforcement in Volusia County. Since then, he implemented classes on gender and racial bias in policing. He also de-emphasized weapon proficiency in the training of new recruits.

In 2020, Chitwood implemented a crisis intervention training for new officers in Volusia County with the goal of decreasing use-of-force and eliminating the "warrior mentality" in police operations. The project was influenced by the Obama Foundation affiliated, Scottish police reform group; Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). In the same period, he equipped detectives and the SWAT team of Volusia County with body cameras while drastically increasing the use of SWAT, leading to what many consider the militarization of police.

Early in 2023, anti-Jewish banners were held by neo-Nazi group Goyim Defense League at the Daytona International Speedway. Chitwood responded to the group at press conferences and on social media. Anonymous death threats were made against Chitwood on 4chan. Police agencies opened an investigation resulting in the arrests of three people outside the state of Florida, one of whom was in possession of firearms and ammunition. In total, six men were arrested in 2023 over alleged threats directed at the sheriff.

Chitwood often personally confronts face-to-face arrested individuals extradited to Florida while they are being escorted through the Orlando Sanford International Airport, including several of the men that made threats against him, and a woman involved in a $52,000 Facebook Marketplace scam.

Political views Chitwood is a registered Independent. He voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 and 2020 United States presidential elections.

Chitwood has made positive remarks about Black Lives Matter and has been supportive of the Blue Lives Matter movement. However, he has under various public safety laws seized firearms from residents throughout his career.

Personal life Chitwood was married to his then-wife Jane. They had three daughters before they divorced. She died in September 2016.