Three Deputies Earn Promotion From Sheriff Johnson

Date Added: June 04, 2013 10:00 am

Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

During his more than 23 years with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, most spent as a narcotics investigator, Sergeant Joseph Gallagher earned a reputation as a dedicated and well-respected law enforcement officer who tackles each new assignment with great enthusiasm. Starting this weekend, Gallagher will be applying that professional zeal to a brand new assignment after being promoted to Lieutenant. Sheriff Ben Johnson made the promotion official on Tuesday when he presented Gallagher with his Lieutenant’s badge during a ceremony at the Sheriff’s Office’s Deputy Stephen Saboda Training Center in Daytona Beach. “It’s an honor to be able to present your badge to you,” Sheriff Johnson told Gallagher in front of a room filled with co-workers and well-wishers.

A former Ormond Beach police officer, the 47-year-old Gallagher started his career with the Sheriff’s Office in November 1989. Along the way, he has served in road patrol, the Sheriff’s Office’s civil section and a stint policing at Daytona Beach International Airport. But he has really made his mark in the Sheriff’s Office during his approximately 20 years spent as a narcotics investigator, including a supervisory role with the multi-agency Volusia Bureau of Investigation. Gallagher was promoted to Sergeant in May 2002 and also was named the Sheriff’s Office’s top investigator for the third quarter of 2007.

In each new assignment, Gallagher’s supervisors noted that he exhibited sound decision-making skills and worked tirelessly and enthusiastically to bring his cases to a successful conclusion. His new assignment will be serving as one of the agency’s two rotating, night-time Watch Commanders. Sheriff Johnson also named two new Sergeants on Tuesday -- 38-year-old Brodie Hughes, who has been with the Sheriff’s Office for nearly 18 years, and 45-year-old Richard LeCates, who has worked for the Sheriff’s Office for nearly 21 years. “It’s a great pleasure for me to make these promotions,” added Sheriff Johnson. “They were well earned.”