GREENVILLE — Darke County’s longtime sheriff has announced his retirement.
Effective Oct. 31, 2021, Darke County Sheriff Toby L. Spencer will be stepping down as sheriff and retiring after 47 years of service with the Sheriff’s Office, 28 of which have been as the elected sheriff of Darke County.
Spencer first joined the sheriff’s department in 1974 as a road deputy and performed in that role until 1977 when he was promoted to the detective section. Spencer was first elected Darke County Sheriff in 1992.
Spencer said he wants to thank the citizens of Darke County for supporting him and having the confidence, in him, to have elected him for 8 terms as sheriff.
Spencer said, “I truly am a blessed man to have served the wonderful citizens and great Darke County, Ohio.”
Spencer said he is retiring and leaving the Sheriff’s Office for personal reasons that have taken a toll on his life in the past couple of years. As well, he noted there are some professional reasons that he believes are not conducive to allow him to do the job he was elected to do.
“I was elected to serve and protect the citizens of Darke County,” he stated. “Unfortunately, under the courts of Darke County, the only ones that are protected are those that continue to offend and continually break the law. There is no accountability for those that prey on our society.”
Union City, Ohio, Police Chief Mark Ater has announced his intention to run to fill out the remainder of Spencer’s term. No other candidates, as yet, have officially announced their intentions.
