Robert Izzo to take over as Chief Deputy of Lake County Sheriff's Office for retiring Sherwood

William Tilton, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio
·4 min read

Sep. 20—There is a change coming near the top of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Captain Robert Izzo has accepted the position of Chief Deputy for the Lake County Sheriff's Office, according to a post on the department's Facebook page. He will take over the responsibilities on Oct. 7 and be second in command for the department when current Chief Deputy Jeff Sherwood retires.

"It is a sincere honor to have been selected to take on the role of Chief Deputy at the Lake County Sheriff's Office and I am extremely grateful to Sheriff (Frank) Leonbruno for the opportunity," Izzo said. "Chief Deputy Jeff Sherwood is a very close friend, a mentor and someone who I have learned from my entire career. He was a sergeant the very first night I began my career nearly 20 years ago and has been a person who has always looked out for me and all of us here at the Sheriff's Office. Chief Sherwood's experience and leadership abilities are second to none and his contributions to the entire law enforcement community in Lake County will be greatly missed. It will be a great challenge continuing where he has left off, but I am very confident I am up to the task."

Izzo has served at the sheriff's office for the past 19 years. He was hired part time into court services and later he accepted a full-time assignment as deputy sheriff in 2003. He has served in many roles, including school resource officer, SWAT team member, crisis negotiator and member of the U.S. Marshal's Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, according to the Facebook post.

Izzo earned a bachelor of arts from Kent State University and a master of science from the University of Cincinnati. He is an FBI LEEDA Trilogy Leadership School recipient, as well as a Police Executive Leadership College graduate. In June, Izzo graduated from the FBI National Academy, an institution fewer than 2 percent of all law enforcement officers are given the opportunity to attend.

"We are excited to have Capt. Izzo accept the new position of chief deputy, and we look forward to our future with him as second in command," Lake County Sheriff Frank Leonbruno said.

Izzo said he looks forward to working closely with Leonbruno and the entire staff doing all he can for the citizens of Lake County.

"Since Sheriff Leonbruno took office three years ago, he and Chief Sherwood worked tirelessly to advance the agency in the right direction. The results of their labor are obvious and compelling. I am very honored and excited to have the opportunity to help keep the positive momentum going at the Lake County Sheriff's Office and continue to work closely with the great people who make

up this agency," Izzo said.

Sherwood started full time with the sheriff's office in 1996 in the road patrol division after serving a short period as a part-time worker in court services, according to a Facebook post. As a deputy working in the townships, he served on the SWAT team, as a field training officer and in the detective bureau. During his career, Sherwood graduated from the FBI National Academy, Police Executive Leadership College and other training programs.

In September 2019 Sherwood became Chief Deputy Jeff Sherwood when he accepted the position of second in charge at the Lake County Sheriff's Office. According to the Facebook post, in the past three years as the chief deputy, he has helped lead the department through new policy and procedure development and the initiation of programs that include honor guard, mounted unit, fitness center and the chaplaincy program.

"To try to detail the many areas of development that Chief Deputy Sherwood has made to our organization and to the broader Lake County community is difficult to detail in such a post. However, he has been a difference maker in our office, in area law enforcement and in the safety and security of communities that we serve. He is truly a top tier impact player and we will be sorry to lose him," Leonbruno said.

"As sheriff, I want to thank Chief Sherwood for being such an excellent person to serve alongside of throughout his career, and for taking on the challenge of working with me the last three years as chief deputy. I could not have asked for a better partner in leading the outstanding individuals whom make up our Sheriff's Office."