By Kenneth Books
Eric Aden’s love affair with law enforcement goes back a long way, from his invitation to a dance by the sheriff’s daughter when he was just 13 to his study of criminology at Florida State University to his current role leading Okaloosa County’s Sheriff’s Office.
Initially, the sheriff planned to work for federal agencies and, in fact, applied for four federal jobs.
“I was going to work for the feds,” he said, “but I got a call from the sheriff (Larry Gilbert) who asked me to join the local force.” That led to the Choctawhatchee High School graduate’s service as a deputy from 1995 to 2003, first as a patrol deputy, then as a school resource officer and finally as a part-time deputy.
He then spent 10 years working for his brother’s mortgage company, where he learned finance, which, it turned out, gave him experience in finance. That, he said, has helped him with the administrative end of his job.
But law enforcement was never far from Sheriff Aden’s mind. He eventually joined the Walton County Sheriff’s Office as a sergeant and later a lieutenant. He stayed there two years, but, he said, “My true desire was to come back home” to Okaloosa County. That came to fruition when he got a call from Okaloosa County Sheriff Larry Ashley, who had his eye on Aden as his successor, in 2010. He worked as a captain and a major, then as a major in a different sphere of activity so he could learn administration. “Those were all the things I wanted to know, but didn’t have in my tool chest,” he said.
In the spring of 2019, he finally got a taste of federal law enforcement at the 10-week FBI academy course. Then Aden was elected sheriff unopposed in 2020, succeeding the retiring Ashley. He recently completed his first year in office. “It was hard to improve” the sheriff’s office, he said, because Ashley had done an exemplary job. One thing Aden did was treat his subordinates as important members of the Sheriff’s Office family.
“I take a lot of input from my employees,” he said. “That helps the troops buy in.” Recently, for example, he surveyed the deputies regarding their choices for a new paint scheme on their cruisers. “I’m not the one driving them,” he said. “They are.”
The degree of success Aden has had in applying his vision surprised him. “I had set goals for myself,” he said. “The agency was able to implement all of them. I was shocked.” Among his goals was boosting the ICAC – Internet Crimes Against Children – task force. Deputies arrested 22 people in a sting. “If those people see that, it scares them into their corner,” Aden said.
In 2021, the Sheriff’s Office solved five cold cases, one for sexual battery and four for homicides, bringing justice to the victim and the loved ones.
Recruitment is a constant need for the generally understaffed Sheriff’s Office. To that end, Aden instituted a cadet program – 10 weeks of paid training, followed by hiring. He tells of one potential recruit who said he would love to join the administration but couldn’t afford it. Aden asked how much the man made and he said $32,000 a year. “I said, ‘I’ll pay you $38,000 a year and pay your tuition.’” The sheriff is hoping to recruit more minority deputies as well.
Aden has stepped up training with a program using a huge flat screen and scenarios in which a deputy may have to come to an immediate decision. A tabletop program features four high-energy scenarios: a condominium collapse; a George Floyd situation; a bomb and a river rescue. Aden hopes to recruit some other agencies to take part in the near future.
As part of the Sheriff’s Office’s community outreach, Aden set up a citizen advisory board, composed of members from a wide variety of neighborhoods, occupations and lifestyles. “They tell us how we’re doing and tell us when they have a problem,” he said.
And the Sheriff’s Office recently obtained a bloodhound puppy. It has other dogs, but Aden said they have eclectic responsibilities and, therefore, are jacks of all trades and masters of none. A bloodhound, though, has one main job and concentrates fully on it. The new puppy was a gift from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, whose own bloodhound had a litter. Currently, the employees are being surveyed for a name for the new addition.
One year in, Aden’s administration has been a rousing success, but he’s quick to pass the credit to others. “All I did was put out my vision,” he said. “It was our people who made it happen. We are a family here.” And he has not been without support from a variety of areas. “I just continue to thank the public and the leaders in the county for their support. We’re only as good as our community.”
