After 7 months of making preparations behind the scenes, Brad Youngman is ready to start making an impact as Daviess County’s new Sheriff even before his squeaky new boots are worn in. Already with a fully staffed department and experienced command staff, Youngman is placing a major emphasis on public safety — which he said starts with addressing the drug problem locally.
Youngman was in his office Monday but said the holiday weekend kept things quiet for his first day on the job. Nonetheless, he was excited to don his new uniform and get rolling.
“There’s definitely a special feeling, but at the same time it was a holiday so it was pretty quiet downtown,” he said. “I think (Tuesday) is when it’s probably going to hit hardest.”
Plus, Youngman was in the unique position of having 7 months to prepare for his new role after winning the May primary election and not facing a challenger in the November general election.
“After the excitement in May tapered off, it kind of got back to life as normal,” he said. “Then this fall when we started meeting with the team that I was putting in place and we were able to start really talking about the things we’re wanting to do, there was a little bit of excitement there. I sort of went into the holiday vacation just wanting to focus on family and the holidays, and I’m grateful for all the work we’d done up to that point. I could not imagine winning a general election and only having six weeks (to get everything in order). It all worked out great. I couldn’t be happier with the way things have gone.”
As might be expected for any Sheriff, one of Youngman’s major focuses over the first few weeks will be implementing his strategy for ensuring a safe community. He didn’t want to give away any specifics, but Youngman is confident DCSO has a good plan in place; he also gave a special thanks to the incoming Fiscal Court for their support so far.
“I can honestly say that we’re going to be able to do pretty much everything I wanted to do right off the bat, and that’s thanks in large part to the new incoming Fiscal Court,” Youngman said. “They’ve met with me, we’ve exchanged some phone calls and text messages, they looked at my budget and asked a few questions. My Finance Director Shelly O’Bryan and I answered those questions and told them where we want to go and the Fiscal Court has been nothing but great to work with. I think the community is going to see really soon how serious this incoming county government is about public safety.”
Youngman said there’s one thing he can say with certainty when it comes to reducing crime.
“The common nexus in all of this is always going to be drugs,” he said. “Most of our crime is a result of drugs. The thefts that we see are usually because of drugs, the assaults are usually because of drugs. So going after the drugs in every direction that we can, to me is gonna make a big difference.”
The Sheriff’s Office will have some help from the state and federal level thanks to the HIDTA designation that Owensboro-Daviess County received in mid-2021. Inclusion into the program provides coordination, equipment, technology, and additional resources to combat drug production and trafficking — and there have already been several major busts in the area.
“The HIDTA Task Force has always been a need in this area, and since they were able to get that there has been a tremendous impact,” Youngman said. “That’s a federal effort, and I’ve always been of the opinion that in order for the federal effort to be as successful as it can be, we need a strong local effort coming in alongside it. The city of Owensboro has that, the Kentucky State Police has that, it’s time the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office has that.”
Youngman also said he’s a big proponent of body cameras, saying they could capture vital evidence in cases.
“There’s a lot of support from the Fiscal Court, the community is a big supporter, and I’m a big fan,” he said. “I think it’s a big misconception that the police don’t want body cameras, as if we’re just going around doing stuff wrong all the time and we don’t want it recorded. That’s not true. I don’t think anybody really wants to be recorded all day long, but once you get familiar with the program, it’s just like anything else. And the first time you go to court and someone’s lying about what you did or didn’t do, and they play that recording, you’re sold. There’s nothing better than being able to go into court and have that proof to back up what you’re saying.”
However, he acknowledged that the costs involved in purchasing body cams will be a hurdle.
“That won’t be an immediate addition because there’s tremendous cost involved,” Youngman said. “It was not included in the budget that I put forth for consideration in January, but it is something that I can go back and hopefully talk to them and look at and we can plan for the future.”
In wanting to be more transparent with the community, Youngman is also planning to utilize more communication methods, especially through multiple social media channels to provide updates — whether that be about crime, weather, or traffic. He said that also means redesigning the website that is more interactive and user-focused.
“These are all things that we’ve not traditionally used in the past,” he said. “I think that’s fine, because for a long time this was a Facebook community. But our younger people are getting older and they’re not on Facebook, so we have to try to find a way to include them too.”
Youngman will continue to meet this week with everyone on staff and begin rolling out the various programs and plans he wants to implement. He said he is thankful for the command staff in place, which has helped lay the groundwork to ensure a smooth and efficient transition. The command staff includes: Major Nick Roby, Chief Deputy; Captain Jared Ramsey, Administrative Division Commander; Captain Duane Harper, Patrol Division Commander; and Captain Jeff Payne, Criminal Investigations Division.
“It’s easy for me to say, ‘here’s what I’m gonna do when I get there.’ But somebody’s gotta take it from the Barry Smith administration to the Brad Youngman administration. The command staff that I’ve put in place, especially the parts that were already here, have been able to bridge that gap to make sure that I can focus on (implementing all our goals going forward),” Youngman said.
Youngman also wanted to share his appreciation for all the work done by previous Sheriff Barry Smith, who retired from DCSO at the end of 2022. Smith was appointed to the position following the retirement of Sheriff Keith Cain, but Youngman beat Smith in a tight primary race.
“The office is in great shape,” Youngman said. “My hat’s off to Sheriff Smith for the work that he continued to do this year. I’ve heard stories of other counties where someone loses an election and they just decide to quit showing up or putting in effort. He certainly did not do that; he was here right to the end. The positive changes that we’ll make in the next few weeks and months wouldn’t be possible if I was having to go back and do some of the things that he did for me. So I’ll always be grateful for the hard work that he did.”
