VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood has never been one to mince words. Known for his blunt style and no-holds-barred approach to crime, Chitwood has built a national reputation by saying and doing what many others won’t.
One word has become his signature: “scumbag.”
As I spent the day riding shotgun with the sheriff, I wanted to know why he started using his infamous phrase.
Turns out, it’s personal.
“My father. That’s how he would refer to you,” Chitwood said. “‘You gonna grow up and be one of those f***ing scumbags I lock the f*** up?’ That’s what he would say at the dinner table.”
[Video: Ride-along with Sheriff Chitwood: The unknown side of serving a warrant]
Chitwood’s father wasn’t just any dad – he was a homicide detective in Philadelphia who later served as police chief in multiple cities, including Middletown, Pennsylvania and Portland, Maine.
Despite that legacy, the younger Chitwood says he initially had no interest in following in his father’s footsteps. But policing eventually found him.
And while his style might not be for everyone, Chitwood says it’s about balance.
“You can be passionate about your profession. You can be a tough-on-crime kind of person. But you can have compassion, understanding, and empathy. You don’t have to be John Wayne. Every door doesn’t have to get kicked in. Everybody doesn’t have to get tased or hit over the head.”
That same fire fuels Chitwood’s outspoken stance against hate groups.
In 2023, after receiving threats from individuals tied to antisemitic online forums, the sheriff made headlines for confronting them directly-at the airport. He met men like Richard Golden and Tyler Myer in person, shining a light on what he calls keyboard cowards.
[News 6’s second ride-along with Mike Chitwood: A day in the life with the Volusia sheriff]
“I decided to do it when it started with the Nazis,” he said. “Because I know how they came into this community and committed fear.”
“People were afraid to wake up and find death threats in their driveway. To be told they’ll be exterminated because they’re Jewish, Black, gay. That they’re somehow subhuman.”
By confronting those threats face-to-face, Chitwood says he’s ripping the mask off of extremists and showing his community they don’t have to be afraid.
“What better than to show up? They live in their mother’s basement, sending emails about exterminating people. And I’m here to meet them when they land.”
But it’s not just hate groups on Chitwood’s radar. One of his biggest concerns right now? Scammers targeting Florida’s elderly.
“Fraud is something we are extremely passionate about,” he said. “We have our own fraud unit.”
The sheriff says seniors in Volusia County are being targeted in increasingly sophisticated scams with some even run from behind prison walls.
“We’re working a group right now out of a prison in Georgia. They go online, find public records-like if you got a speeding ticket today and call you tomorrow pretending to be the ticket clinic. They’ll say, ‘The system’s down, wire us $1,500 and we’ll make the ticket disappear.”
Worse yet, he says the money is being deposited directly into prisoners’ commissary accounts.
The impact can be devastating, and he says he takes it personally.
“When you see people born in 1935, 1938, 1941… losing $75,000-that’s their life savings. The number one driver of suicide among people 75 and older is financial fraud. You can’t recoup that. You can’t go back to work.”
Despite pushback from critics who see his methods as extreme, Chitwood said he’s not trying to win a popularity contest.
“There’s a way to do your job, be extremely successful, and have the community embrace you,” he said. “And a majority of the community does embrace what we’re doing.”
From chasing down fraudsters to confronting extremists, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said one thing is certain: He’s not backing down.
Because for him, fighting for Volusia County isn’t about being liked.
“It’s about doing what’s right,” he said.