Mt. Orab Police Sergeant Chris Hodges will become Chief Deputy of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office in January.
Hodges was offered the job be Sheriff-Elect Gordon Ellis.
“He brings to position a wealth of experience and sound training background.  Throughout the process, he had the ability to think in a manner that was inclusive of the problems facing the county.  He was very thoughtful,” Ellis said.
He added that Hodges distinguished himself in the interview process.
“He was focused on the needs of the county.  You can tell that he has a real desire to serve the citizens.  He has a true desire to see forward progress in the sheriff’s office and that came across in his answers. I think he’s going to do a marvelous job,” said Ellis.
Hodges has been with the Mt. Orab Police Department since 2001.  He said that he is looking forward to his new job.
“It’s a new challenge.  I have been a supervisor here in Mt. Orab for six years.  Working here in Mt. Orab has helped me develop as a law enforcement officer and as a supervisor and the chief deputy position will help me continue that process.”
He added that he expected the work to begin right away.
“I’m very excited, but there are some challenges.  The budget issue, the jail issues that the county has been facing.  But there are a lot of good officers at the sheriff’s office and I’m looking forward to working with them to overcome those challenges.”
Hodges said that training for the deputies under his command was going to be a priority for him.
“Developing your officers and making sure they are the best trained that they can be is the most important part about being a supervisor. There are a lot of split second decisions that have to be made in our profession, so the most important thing we do is train our officers and sure that they are capable of making the correct split-second decisions, because you are not always there,” Hodges said.
He also said that professionalism with the public at all times would be a primary focus.
“When we are dealing with the public, we are often dealing with them during times of crisis.  We have to make sure that we treat them with respect during those times. Professionalism in dealing with the public and other agencies is the standard.  One of the things that Sheriff-elect Ellis ran his campaign on was treating the public with professionalism and I think that’s important to remember.”
Another issue that Hodges expects to face is the mutual aid policy,  which effects which law enforcement agencies can respond to a crisis in a village or the county.
“Once Sheriff Ellis takes office, we are going to have a meeting with all the police chiefs in the county.  We are going to revisit the mutual aid policy and make sure that it’s a policy that is going to benefit everybody.  We want to make sure that in an emergency situation, we can get an officer there as fast as possible,” Hodges said.
His first day on the job is expected to be January 2.