Son Of Slain Harford Deputy Becomes First Cadet

BEL AIR, MD - Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey R. Gahler announced the creation of a new program within the sheriff's office on Thursday.

Open to those between 18 and 21 years old, the cadet program allows people interested in law enforcement to join the agency and learn how it operates before becoming a sworn deputy.

Tyler Dailey became the first cadet in the program, Gahler said at a press conference Thursday. The new cadet is the son of Senior Deputy Patrick Dailey, who was killed in the line of duty on February 10, 2016.

"As Pat demonstrated, there is no greater love that anyone can offer than putting on the uniform to be a service member..." Gahler said. "Tyler had that passion...the desire to follow a law enforcement path as his father had, and we're excited to be able to help him along on that journey."

Gahler, who began his own career in law enforcement as a cadet when he was 19 years old, said the program had been under consideration in Harford County since before his time as sheriff.

"Now is the time to do it. We're seeing...and we're not alone...issues with recruitment," Gahler said.

He said young men and women were lost because they were going to Maryland State Police, Howard County and other jurisdictions that offered programs for younger applicants. He said that Dailey was considering joining law enforcement in Baltimore County, and that helped push the cadet program into Harford County into fruition.

"Words can't express how excited I am," Dailey said, adding that the day his father was killed, he made a vow to himself that he was going to join law enforcement.

"He wanted to wear this uniform, the uniform that his father wore for 30 years, and we didn't offer that pathway," Gahler said. "And that was the final straw."

Said Gahler: "It would have broke[n] my heart to see him in anything other than this."

Dailey signed the new ledger marking his enlistment as the first cadet, and Gahler said he hopes to grow the program up to four. Dailey will be assigned to the southern precinct working special events, and the sheriff said people may see the new cadet at the Harford County Farm Fair.