COVINGTON, Ky. — Covington is once again getting a new police chief.
Brian Valenti, the department's current police chief, has announced his plans to retire. Lt. Col. Justin Wietholter will step into the role instead, a press release from the city of Covington says.
Valenti has been with the Covington Police Department in some capacity since 1996, though he just took up the mantle of police chief in 2022, after Police Chief Rob Nader stepped down.
He's a Tri-State native, having graduated from Glen Este High School and Northern Kentucky University. He's also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
In nearly 30 years of service in Covington, Valenti has worked in nearly every bureau of the department, including administration, criminal investigations, narcotics and vice, and as a patrol and DUI enforcement officer. For more than 20 years, Valenti also served on the department's Honor Guard and as the department's Office in Charge.
He also served as Covington's assistant police chief for roughly three years before he took over Nader's position as chief.
Valenti said for him, Covington is home.
"Covington isn't only my employer or where I work," Valenti said in a press release. "It has become a home, a second family that can never be replaced. I am grateful to have been able to serve this great city and work alongside some of the finest people I will ever know."
When Valenti stepped into the role of police chief in 2022, he told WCPO his focus was addressing violent crime and providing great customer service to the people of Covington.
“I would like to see our officers out in the community a little bit more. One of the things that has to happen for that is we have to get staffed up. We’ve done an excellent job over the last several months of getting some new police officers and we’re getting those guys cut loose here,” Valenti said in 2022.
Valenti highlighted staffing shortages as a challenge for the police department when he took over the role of police chief.
Wietholter is the "most logical choice to be the city's next police chief," Valenti said.
The newly-named police chief has been with the Covington Police Department since 2005, when he started in the Police Cadet Program. Since then, he's served as assistant chief of operations since 2022, where he oversaw the department's patrol, criminal investigations and strategic services bureaus, as well as the SWAT Team.
Wietholter is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
"As someone who was raised here and has spent more than 20 years with the Covington Police Department, I've witnessed first-hand the city's remarkable growth and transformation," said Wietholter in a press release. "I'm excited to lead a department committed to progress, accountability and innovation — values that reflect the police department and the city's dynamic future."
As for his life after retirement, Valenti joked that he may try to improve his golf game, but his immediate future involves being a "house husband."
"There are no definitive plans in the works," said Valenti. "I'm sure I'll play a very bad version of what some people call golf. Maybe I'll actually get better, but I doubt it. My wife and I like to travel, so I'm sure that'll be on the horizon also. She plans to also retire at the end of the year, so for the next few months I plan to be the best house husband I can be."
