Chad Depew said he didn’t expect to become Chief of Police by the time he was 30.
But he is.
Depew is the Chief of Police in Eaton, Ohio, and from 2000 to 2002, he attended Sinclair Community College’s Police Academy, graduating with an associates in Criminal Justice.
“I always liked Sinclair,” Depew said. “I loved online classes.”
Depew said the training he received at Sinclair’s Police prepared him for his job.
“I loved the academy, too,” Depew said. “I heard other officers who didn’t have as good an experience [from other academies].”
Depew grew up in Germantown, Ohio and graduated from Valley View High School.
He was hired in Eaton in 2002 as a patrol officer. In 2006, he applied to become a Sergeant–and through circumstances out of his control–rose to a rank that made him second in command of the department. Depew said the adjustmentwas difficult for him.
“It was a very huge change,” Depew said. “I went from patrol to administration and management.”
Then, in Feb. of 2010, Chad became the acting Chief of Police when the previous chief was activated to the Navy. (The former chief eventually retired.)
Depew stayed in that role for a year and called it challenging, although not as bad as becoming Sergeant.
“I had to learn how to do a new job,” Depew said. “Different things come daily.”
Finally, in March, Depew was hired as Chief of Police.
“It was a huge dream of mine,” Depew said.
Koda gets all the attention
Another part of Depew’s job is to serve as handler for the narcotics dog in the Eaton Police Department. The dog’s name is Koda, and he’s a German Shepherd born in Texas. Depew has had him since he became acting Chief.
Depew said the dog is popular with the community and with children at the schools they visit.
“He gets all the attention,” Depew said.
Koda has also done his job as Depew’s partner, Depew said. Koda is a certified narcotics dog and Depew credited him with helping in over 30 arrests.
“He’s fun to work with,” Depew said. “He’s a great assist.”
The future for Chad
Depew said he recently told the Eaton City Manager about how he sees his future.
“I’ll stay as long as you’ll keep me,” Depew said.
Depew called his staff a great group of people and said he works to make sure they strike a balance between work and the life outside of it.
“I’m just really fortunate,” Depew said.