MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Deputy Chief Earl Nelson, a 19-year veteran of the Middletown Division of Police, has been recommended as the city’s new police chief, pending formal vote by city council Aug. 6.
Nelson was announced as the pick today after a testing and interview process. The recommendation was one of City Manager Paul Lolli’s last acts in his position. He retires effective Wednesday.
“The role of police chief requires consummate professionalism and model dedication in the office and in the community, both of which Deputy Chief Nelson exemplifies every day,” Lolli said. “Under Deputy Chief Nelson’s leadership, the Middletown Division of Police will have an opportunity to further evolve and grow into a department that this community respects and admires.”
“It’s an honor to be selected for this position. I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement,” Nelson said. “I also want to thank all the people who took part in the selection process for chief. This was a tough decision because all of the candidates are exceptional leaders. This police department and city have the most dedicated employees in the area and I cannot wait to get to work.”
Nelson, if formally approved, will be the first Black police chief in the city’s history and was the department’s first Black sergeant when he was promoted in 2017.
The division of police has had two acting police chiefs at the helm since December when then-chief David Birk was placed on administrative leave and later signed a voluntary separation agreement. Deputy Chief Eric Crank was named acting chief until his retirement in April.
Deputy Chief Andy Warrick was named acting chief in April. Following civil service testing and evaluation, Lolli recommended Lt. Malcolm Tipton and Sgt. Earl Nelson be promoted to deputy chief. Those promotions were approved by council in May.
Deputy chiefs Tipton and Nelson and acting chief Warrick all tested for the chief position.
Tipton joined the Middletown Division of Police in 2008, was promoted to sergeant in 2017 and lieutenant in 2022
Warrick has been with the Middletown Division of Police since September 2001, when he was a patrol officer. In 2007, he was appointed police sergeant and promoted to lieutenant in 2017. In January 2018, Warrick was appointed deputy police chief.
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