Chenoweth was named the interim chief in April as his predecessor, Craig Bucheit, left the job to be the Hamilton city manager. Chenoweth was the choice for the interim job based on the command structure of the Hamilton Police Department. He was the lone police captain serving as assistant police chief.
Though the decision to name Chenoweth, who grew up in Lindenwald, was the natural decision being the ranking police executive under Buchiet, it was not a guarantee he’d be named chief. He and five Hamilton police lieutenants followed the same process taken when Bucheit became chief, a test Chenoweth was familiar with as he also took the chief of police civil service test at that time.
Bucheit slightly edged Chenoweth by 3 points a decade ago.
As he ascends to the top cop post, Chenoweth said he will “look forward to working with the men and woman of the Hamilton Police Department, the city, and the community to create positive change.”
The native Hamiltonian has been with the Hamilton Police Department for 32 years, and he wanted to be a cop since he was 12 years old. He said it started when he was involved in Safety Patrol in elementary school. He was captain of the Safety Patrol, “and then from there, I was done. It was all I ever wanted to do.”
Chenoweth was hired as a Hamilton patrol officer in August 1991, promoted to detective in March 1998, then sergeant in in August 2002. As a sergeant, he served on patrol, in vice and then in training. A decade later, he was promoted to lieutenant in June 2012 and continued to serve as s the Training Section Commander until being promoted to Administrative Captain in May 2015. He was reclassified as assistant chief on Dec. 1, 2023.
Chenoweth earned an associate’s degree in Law Enforcement in 1991 and a bachelor’s degree in Organizational leadership in 2009, both from Northern Kentucky University. He received an MBA in Public Administration in 2019 from Columbia Southern University. He also is a graduate from the Police Executive Leadership College and the Certified Law Enforcement Executive program.
The testing for the police chief civil service exam took place in June, with the written portion being on the first of June, and the assessment center portion near the end of June.
Chenoweth will be leading the department with a lot of transition happening, including the move into the new Justice Center across from the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, likely this November or December. He said the department is “very well-versed in dealing with change” and is prepared for it.
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