COVINGTON, Ky. — A new police chief will take over the Covington Police Department Wednesday. Interim Police Chief, Brian Valenti was named the new Chief in a meeting Tuesday evening.
Valenti has been the Interim Police Chief since September 1 when Rob Nader stepped down.
Valenti said he has some big shoes to fill and wants to continue with the direction the Covington Police Department has been headed recently, focusing on addressing violent crime and providing great customer service to the people of Covington.
“I would like to see our officers out in the community a little bit more. One of the things that has to happen for that is we have to get staffed up. We’ve done an excellent job over the last several months of getting some new police officers and we’re getting those guys cut loose here,” he said.
Valenti said staffing shortages are a challenge for the police department right now, as they are for many departments, but he said he expects there to be different community interaction in the next couple of months because of recent hires.
"Whether it's keeping the staff that you have or recruiting new officers, it's a very tough job these days and it keeps getting more and more difficult," he said. "But with the support of the community and the support of the City Commission and the Mayor and City Manager and the support of the Chief's Office the officers know that they can go and do their jobs on a regular basis and know that they're going to be supported."
Valenti has been with the department since 1996 and has served as Assistant Police Chief since 2019. He's a Tri-State native, having graduated from Glen Este High School and Northern Kentucky University. He's also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
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