Volusia County, FL - During a press conference on Thursday, Sheriff-elect Mike Chitwood announced Lieutenant John Creamer, a 9-year veteran of the Daytona Beach Police Department, as his Chief Deputy.
Creamer worked alongside Chitwood during his time at DBPD, and that partnership will continue when Chitwood takes over the Volusia County Sheriff's Office on January 1.
"I can't think of a higher honor, frankly," said Creamer after that press conference. "I'm so honored to have this opportunity."
Creamer was born and raised in Tallahassee and comes from a family of public servants. "My dad was a 30-year firefighter for the city of Tallahassee," he said. "My mom worked for Florida State, my grandfather in World War II was a firefighter and a police officer, and then one of my dad's brothers was a police officer as well. So we do come from a mixed family of public service."
Creamer grew up around the fire station and firefighters. "As a kid, I thought my dad was John Wayne," said Creamer. "Because he came home from the fire station after his shift and he smelled of smoke, and may have had injuries. As a little boy I'd crawl up in his lap and you could still feel elements of him being in a house fire. And there's nothing more exhilarating than to think about 'hey, that's my dad and he did all that.'"
He was drawn to law enforcement because of his uncle, who was a 30-plus-year veteran of the Tallahassee Police Department. "I'm very proud of my father and his accomplishments, and my hat always goes off to the firefighters because it's a dangerous job," said Creamer. "But this is a passion for me. This is what I feel like God intended me to do."
Creamer started his career at the Tallahassee Police Department, where he worked for 15 years before joining DBPD and teaming up with Chitwood in 2007.
Now he and Chitwood can look forward to attending the Florida Sheriffs Association's Sheriff's school together, in Creamer's hometown.
(Lt. John Creamer)
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2016.
