Brad Youngman, a lifelong Owensboro resident who has 20 years of law enforcement and military experience, announced his candidacy for Daviess County Sheriff on Tuesday in front of the Veterans Memorial at the Owensboro Sportscenter.
“I am running for sheriff because I believe Daviess County deserves safe homes, safe schools, and safe streets,” Youngman said. “I have dedicated my life to keeping people safe, whether it was those I served beside in Iraq and Afghanistan or the citizens of Daviess County. Protecting and serving others has always been my focus.”
He said while it’s still true that Owensboro is a “great place to raise a family” and a “safe community,” he wants to make sure those statements always apply.
“But like each of you I worry about the direction that we are going in,” he said. “Each day you hear it … another shooting, more thefts, more sexual assaults, more robberies, more drugs. Our safe community is becoming crime-ridden.”
Youngman said most people know someone that is affected by those crimes, whether it is a family member, friend, or coworker.
“We have got to do something to change the course that this community is on,” he said. “The time for that change is now. We need proactive law enforcement leadership. No more doing things the same old way. Because ladies and gentlemen, it is not working. We need a sheriff that knows how to take the streets back. We have to have a sheriff that is capable of leading the way to stop the drugs, stop the violence, and stop the surging crime.”
Part of his initiative will include forming a Daviess County Sheriff’s Office drug investigations unit. He said that would be a trained, dedicated, in-house effort that “puts Daviess County first in fighting the war on drugs.”
Youngman said he would also continue to work with the school systems to keep kids safe “so that our children can learn in an environment without being afraid or in danger.”
He said he will also work with the court system and the prosecutors to ensure proper investigations and casework is done to enable higher conviction rates and to prevent the re-occurrence of crime committed by the same person.
“We will work alongside nonprofits, mental health agencies and those that shoulder the burden after a crime has been committed to provide resources to the victims of crime that are too often left in the wake,” he said.
Youngman said his decades of experience have prepared him to lead the Sheriff’s Office.
“I will build a department that has experience, is proactive, and is community-oriented,” he said. “I will hold myself and the department to the highest ethical standards, the highest level of training and proficiency, and ensure honesty and transparency in our police work.”
Youngman is a 1998 graduate of Owensboro High School and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Indiana in 2004.
He is currently employed by the Daviess County Public Schools Police Department as the Lead Law Enforcement Officer. In his role, he is responsible for the daily operations of the department which oversees the safety and security of DCPS’ 21 buildings and more than 12,000 personnel including students, staff, and visitors.
In addition to his law enforcement career, Brad is a retired U.S. Army officer. Serving as a Military Intelligence Officer and Counterintelligence Agent for more than 20 years in the United States Army and Kentucky Army National Guard, he worked primarily in Special Operations assignments. During his military service, he deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and served domestic tours in counter-narcotics programs, homeland security, and on the US/Mexico border.
Brad and his wife Brook reside in Owensboro and have two sons, Kaden and Ethan.
