- December 4, 2025
PERF Executive Director Chuck Wexlex, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, and Police Commissioner Michael S. Harrison. Photo courtesy of Greg Dohler Photography
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, second from left, received the Police Executive Research Forum's 2023 Leadership Award on July 18. Photo courtesy of Greg Dohler Photography
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood receives the Police Executive Research Forum's 2023 Leadership Award on July 18 from Police Commissioner Michael S. Harrison. Photo courtesy of Greg Dohler Photography
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood has received the Police Executive Research Forum's 2023 Leadership Award.
PERF presented the award at its annual meeting in New York City on July 18.
The award recognizes people who make outstanding contributions to the field of law enforcement and exemplify the highest principles and standards of policing, according to a press release.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office was an early adopter of the Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics de-escalation training program and set up its own training academy.
Between 2016 and 2022, use-of-force incidents involving Volusia deputies dropped by nearly two-thirds, while the number of calls for service remained fairly steady, according to the press release. Deadly force incidents declined to 0 in 2022.
After anti-Semitic flyers were distributed and banners displayed in Volusia County earlier this year, Chitwood organizing a press conference with a diverse group of community organizations, calling out the extremists publicly.
"Through careful study and new training, Volusia County has seen a major drop in incidents and is now a model for other agencies to replicate," PERF Executive Director Chuck Wexler said. "And finally, when citizens were terrorized by anti-Semitic threats, Sheriff Chitwood stood tall and defended them.”
