Hanover Town Marshal Josh Taylor soon will become chief deputy of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.

His last official day as Hanover’s top law enforcement officer will be Friday, Aug. 30. 

“I appreciate the opportunities that have been given to me as a police officer for the Town of Hanover,” Taylor said in his Aug. 17 resignation letter to the Hanover Town Council. “It has been a pleasure to serve the community and residents of the town of Hanover.”

Kenny Garrett, president of the council, announced Taylor’s departure Tuesday evening at the regular council meeting and noted that they were “going to miss you.” 

“Chief Taylor has over 15 years of law enforcement experience, which is an excellent foundation,” said County Sheriff Dave Thomas. “With three years as the Hanover chief of police, he has a good understanding of the administrative side of a law enforcement agency.”

Taylor moved with his family to the Madison area as a youth and graduated from Madison Consolidated High School in 1997. He has an associates degree in law enforcement from Vincennes University and a Bachelor of Science degree in criminology from Indiana State University. 

He was a Jefferson County reserve officer in 2001, and from the fall of 2001 until 2014, was a member of the Vincennes University Police Department. He was promoted to lieutenant with that department.

At the end of 2014, Taylor and his family moved back to Jefferson County and he joined the Hanover Police Department as a School Resource Officer for Southwestern schools.

He moved from the schools to the Hanover Police Department in the fall of 2015 and was appointed town marshal in 2016.

The chief deputy’s position at the sheriff’s department has been open since John Wallace, a former sheriff who became chief deputy when he did not run again and resigned to become a School Resource Officer for Madison Consolidated Schools. 

Taylor said he plans to continue to try to get buy-in and support from the community. 

“I’ve always felt the community needs to have confidence it can talk to law enforcement and have conflict resolved,” Taylor said. “Law enforcement needs to go and get the buy-in from the community. They could be the solution to lots of problems.”