1st week: Sheriff Mike Chitwood punishes internet news site that challenged him when he was Daytona's top cop, rips county leaders on radio & politicizes Orlando cop death in TV spot

Create: Wed, 01/11/2017 - 23:00
Author: Henry

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- In his first week as Sheriff, Mike Chitwood has moved swiftly to punish the lone internet media outlet that reported his abuses when he was Daytona's top cop while turning quickly to two friendly mediums to push his personal agenda: appearing on a radio talk show to rip county leaders and inn a TV news program where he used the shooting of an Orlando cop to push for deputy pay increases.

Such is vintage Chitwood who uses his media comnections to push his agenda even as his message contains haldf truths, innuendo and downright fabrications. He doesn't care because he knows the media outlets he has at his disposal are not going to challenge him.

Five years ago, one such online media outlet did challenge him on facts and has held a grudge since. The media outlet, of course, is Headline Surfer®. Immediately after Chitwood was sworn in on Jan. 3., he had his senior PIO, Gary Davidson, prevent Headline Surfer from accessing Chitwood's first press conference, making clear it's media representative was not welcomed and would be arrested if he disobeyed the directive. Never mind that Headline Surfer was sent an email welcing it and other regular members of the media. Then Chitwood had Headline Surfer removed from the Volusia County Sheriff's media alert distribution list and the internet news outlet was removed from the agency's website listing of local news outlets.

As a result of Chitwood's punitive and unwarranted attack on Headline Surfer, the award-winning site has had to play catch up on new developments in the investigation into the New Year's eve case in which Ormond Beach parents wrere found dead on I-4 while their three young kids were inside their running SUV, several armed robberies of stores and a violent Deltona home invasion in which a man was savagely bean and burned with a pipe.

While doing everything possible to cut of Headline Surfer, Chitwood turned to two friendly media outlets to push his agenda. First, he apperared on the Marc Bernier Show