Xenia Police Chief Person to Retire after 46 Years

After nearly 50 years in law enforcement, all of them spent with the Xenia Police Division, Xenia Police Chief Donald R. Person is retiring.

Chief Person began his law enforcement career as a dispatcher in 1976 and later applied to be a police officer. On September 23, 1979, he was sworn in as an officer with the Xenia Police Division. Over the next 24 years Person rose through the ranks, appointed as Sergeant in 1987 and Lieutenant in 1992. During his tenure as Administrative Sergeant, Person was tasked with taking the Xenia Police Division through the accreditation process, which the Division achieved in 1993. Several years later, as Administrative Lieutenant, Person oversaw the rewriting of policies and procedures and an on-site visit from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) for the Division’s re-accreditation. It was Person’s diligent work on that project that earned him the Division’s highest honor in 1998, the Casey Elliott
Memorial “City’s Finest Award.”

On June 12, 2003, Person was sworn in as Xenia Police Chief and has since led the Division in an orderly fashion and a fair mind. “It has been my great honor to serve, protect, and support this community for the past 46 years,” Chief Person said, “I have been privileged to work with
excellent officers, dispatchers and staff at the Xenia Police Division who serve with integrity and compassion every day and have always made me proud to be their Chief. In my 19 years as Police Chief, I have been blessed to serve two City Managers and many different Council
Members who have supported me and my vision for the Xenia Police Division and who made sure the division received the resources necessary to carry out that vision. Lastly, I and the XPD officers have been blessed to serve in a community which overwhelmingly supports their police officers and shows that support in tangible ways every day. It is my fervent hope that the Xenia Police Division continues to bless this community with great service and leadership and that the City of Xenia continues to thrive and grow as a community.”

Chief Person will officially retire from his position on June 10, 2022, but will stay on with the Police Division through September to serve as a mentor and help the incoming Police Chief transition into the role. “Chief Person’s contribution to our community over his distinguished career is immeasurable,” Xenia City Manager Brent Merriman said. “His institutional knowledge of Xenia and its operations along with his innovative spirit has helped to continue Xenia Police Division’s tradition of excellence. We thank Chief Person for his dedication not only to law enforcement, but to our community as a whole.”

The selection process for Xenia’s new Police Chief is ongoing and a formal announcement is anticipated to be announced soon.