Officers retire

As Jay County is transitioning to life at home, four local officers are making a transition of their own, to retirement.

Bart Darby and Todd Wickey of Portland Police Department and Bob Brown from the Jay County Sheriff’s Office all put in their last day of service in the past month.

Meanwhile, Mitch Sutton has been posted at the courthouse on security detail since his retirement from the sheriff’s office in February.

“It’s a young man’s job … it’s time for me to move on,” said Darby, who served as chief of the police department from 1996 to 2004 and as a deputy for the sheriff’s office from 1988 to 1991.

He’d still be an officer if it wasn’t for his age, said Darby, who served a total of 36 years for the sheriff’s office and police department as a full-time and reserve officer. As chief he started the department’s D.A.R.E. program and was one of the first officers in the state to have a computer in his patrol car.

Darby’s last day was March 31, the same day Wickey left the force after serving as an investigator for 25 years. Wickey also served as an investigator and chief of the Geneva Police Department before moving to Portland’s department in 1994.

On top of transitioning to his job at the courthouse, Sutton has had to adjust to the courthouse’s restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s a lot quieter,” said Sutton.

Despite that, he’s enjoying still being able to work with the public in some capacity.

He added that he only left the sheriff’s office because his pension was maxed out after 32 years of service.

Sutton held just about every rank in the sheriff’s office, said Sheriff Dwane Ford. Though he is retired, he is still considered a special deputy with arrest powers.

“It was kind of a no brainer for me to transition from the sheriff’s office to the courthouse,” Sutton said.

He added that he’ll miss his fellow officers and the camaraderie and team atmosphere he shared with them.

One of the officers Sutton worked with during his entire career was Brown, whose last day was Wednesday. Brown served as a deputy for 30 years in addition to a few years as a reserve officer.

“Everybody rode with him at one time or another,” said Ford, who added that Brown was always good at training new officers.

“We hate to see them go but I understand and wish them the best,” said Portland Police Chief Nathan Springer, who was hired by Darby when he was chief.

Since he knew Darby and Wickey were retiring this year, Springer hired a 14th officer, one more than the department usually carries, last year to make the transition easier. The department is currently operating with 12 officers but is waiting until after the COVID-19 pandemic to hire a 13th.

Pending an approval from Jay County Commissioners, Eric Smitely will assume Brown’s position, Ford said.