Officer Dave Valentine retires from OUPD after 24 years

The Ohio University Police Department is announcing the retirement of Officer Dave Valentine after nearly 24 years of service to the Ohio University community. OUPD will host a retirement party for Valentine from noon to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, in the Community Room off OUPD’s main lobby.

Valentine began his career with OUPD in 1999 after working for the North Baltimore (Ohio) Police Department. Valentine is also a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving 10 years between active duty, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve.

During his time at OUPD, Valentine served as a patrol officer, field training officer, detective, bicycle officer, and ALiCE instructor.  He also administrated OUPD’s Second Chance Program in the early 2000s.  Valentine was one of six OUPD officers who served on Task Force Blue (TFB), a statewide task force run by the Ohio Highway Patrol to assist local agencies with large public order events. He received an award for deploying with TFB to the Republican National Convention in 2016. Valentine also received OUPD’s prestigious Employee of the Year award in 2016.

OUPD Chief Andrew Powers will remember Valentine as a consistent performer with a great work ethic.

“Dave was a great police officer and role model for our newer officers. He was a hard worker who was always reliable and reasonable. He will be tough to replace,” Powers said. 

Valentine is married to Jennifer Valentine and together they have two sons, Jesse and Zachary.

The retirement reception is open to the public and light refreshments will be available. Those unable to attend may pass along well-wishes to Valentine at valentid@ohio.edu.