2/ Volusia is Trump country. But Chitwood, a registered independent, has defied the odds. He won endorsements from both the NRA and the NAACP. And he beat the favorite of the good-ol'-boy network and the darling of the deputies union.
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4/ Chitwood's appeal — like Trump's — is a brash, uncensored, critics-be-damned style that makes him a forceful and familiar presence on local TV.
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5/ While his demeanor may be Trumpian, his views on criminal justice are anything but. On any given day, one might hear him talking about social justice, the terrible legacy of segregation, or the need for immigration reform.
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6/ "Why are we focused on immigration?" Chitwood asks. "Who the fuck cares? Our job in law enforcement is to protect victims and witnesses. It doesn't matter what your immigration status is."
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7/ Many citizens in Volusia have taken a liking to Chitwood, but his most formidable obstacle is resistance within his cadre of 415 officers.
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8/ "The easy part for me is convincing the residents. The residents have seen me at work for ten years," says Chitwood of his time on the force in Florida. "The cops, they are the skeptical ones."
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9/ But Chitwood wants to show his officers that there's more to policing than what they have experienced so far: "They don't read articles from the outside. They don't get educated from the outside. Everything is Volusia County."
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10/ In our collaboration with
@NewsHour, read more about Chitwood, his quest for reform, and how he's holding up a year into the Trump administration.https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/01/23/taking-police-reform-to-trump-country?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sprout&utm_source=twitter …Show this thread
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I take it you don’t particularly like the elected sheriff in Volusia County, Fla.
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Journalists have no opinions. I do, however, like my German Shepherd and my yoga mat
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