“Chief Knight left a really great legacy and paved the path for Vandalia to be one of the top-notch police agencies in the area. What we are looking at it is how we can take this and make it one step better. He was a great mentor for me,” Althouse said.
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Althouse, who grew up in the Tipp City area, attended school at the Wesleyan Christian Academy in Dayton. He worked at the Vandalia McDonalds for three years in high school and engaged in sports activities with friends at Helke Park.
“A lot of my friends, associates were here in Vandalia,” he said. “My dad worked at the Inland Delphi plant in town for 34 years.”
His interest in police work began in high school.
“I was fortunate to be part of an Explorer program both at the Dayton Police Department and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office,” he said. “Those were some of my first exposures to law enforcement.”
In the program, he was able to participate in training and ride along with offices.
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Following high school, he attended Sinclair Community College’s police science program and worked as student security officer. He left to work as a part-time dispatcher at the Englewood Police Department in 1991, and then as a Montgomery County dispatcher.
He became a Montgomery County deputy in October 1994, taking on assignments including road patrol, evidence technician, internal affairs and accreditation. Promoted to sergeant in 2000, he worked in the jail division, court detail, supervising road patrol, supervisor of forensic services and oversaw safety programs and investigations of serious and fatal crashes. He participated in the honor guard and with the hostage negotiating team.
The highlight of his career was attending the FBI National Academy in 2017.
Althouse, 45, lives south of Dayton. He has three sons and a fiance, Andrea, who works for a civilian contractor at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Althouse said he is honored to have the chance to serve the community.
“The Vandalia community has given me so much,” he said. “I see this as an opportunity to repay the community for all they have done for me. I also appreciate the community’s support.”
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