New Amelia Police Chief David Friend was sworn in Dec. 5 by Solicitor Julia Carney. Friend's wife Sheil held the Bible.
Amelia village has a new police chief Dec. 5 after officials spent months debating whether to keep or dissolve the village police department.

“Now that the decision has been made that there will be no shift in police coverage to the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office, it is time to move forward,” Mayor Leroy Ellington said about the decision to hire a new chief.

Chief David Friend was sworn into the village during the Dec. 5 council meeting by village solicitor Julia Carney.

Chief Friend has a master’s degree in criminal justice from Tiffin University, with a minor in public administration. He is certified by the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy and receives ongoing training.

Chief Friend worked for 27 years at the Tipp City Police Department, north of Dayton, and also served with the Covington Ohio Police Department and the West Milton Ohio Police Department. He has had 33 years of law enforcement experience.

“I believe the good citizens of Amelia deserve the very best from their police department and I am very confident Chief Friend will bring strong leadership and a renewed sense of community to the already successful Amelia Police Department,” Mayor Ellington said.

Village council members approved the appointment of Chief Friend at a Sept. 22 special meeting and he was sworn in Dec. 5, with several family members and friends in attendance, including his wife, Sheila.

“I would just like to especially say thank you to the people who came from up north to see me (be sworn in),” Chief Friend said.

Chief John Wallace has been acting as interim chief at the village after the retirement of previous police chief Jeffrey Sucher in June of 2011.

Village council appointed Chief Wallace to oversee the department while they investigated whether to keep the department or enter a contract for police coverage with the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office.

Chief Wallace helped to evaluate the current status of the police department and helped investigate areas where the village could save money. He presented his findings to council members throughout the summer.

Council also heard from the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office about the details of a contract as well as current village police officers and many residents, who addressed council in favor of keeping the village police department.

Although the issue was set to go before council for a vote Sept. 6, the decision to keep the department was made before that date.

Ellington said questions about how the contract would be payed for, as well as the fact that the November election would bring a new mayor and new council members into the village, led to a mutual decision by the village and the sheriff’s office not to enter into a contract.

Once the decision was made, the village began to take applications for a new chief, while Chief Wallace continued to serve as interim chief. Chief Wallace did not apply for the position.

“I would like to thank Chief Wallace for the job he has done as interim police chief,” Ellington said at the council meeting.

Chief Friend will begin as the new police chief Dec. 12. He thanked council members for appointing him and taking the time to meet him prior to the meeting.

“I really appreciate everything,” Chief Friend said.