Sheriff Paul Penzone has assigned a 29-year veteran of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to take over as commander of the MCSO District 7 operations based in Fountain Hills.

Capt. Henry Brandimarte has been on the job in Fountain Hills for just over two weeks after spending much of his MCSO career working in District 2 covering western Maricopa County.

Originally from New Jersey, Brandimarte came to Arizona after his service in the Marine Corps ended in Southern California. He had planned to return to New Jersey and become a state trooper. However, he was offered the opportunity to start as a sworn patrol deputy with the Sheriff’s Office.

His experience covers all aspects of law enforcement including street patrol, investigations, warrant service, extraditions unit commander, major crimes investigations and court services (a job that earned him experience handling protestors opposing SB1070).

Brandimarte also worked at the Arizona Counter Terrorism Center and the aviation division.

He returned to Avondale as commander for District 2 before transferring to the Fountain Hills command.

“These first two weeks have been busy,” Brandimarte said. “A fabulous, eye-opening and warm experience.”

He said Fountain Hills is more of a focused, community-based policing approach than he was used to in Avondale. District 2 is a huge expanse with hundreds of square miles of sparsely populated land.

“As I settle in, this community really appeals to me,” Brandimarte said.

After being a long-time west side resident Brandimarte and his wife recently moved to Gilbert to be near their first grandchild. Together they are a blended family with five children ages 16 to 30. The youngest is a high school sophomore.

Brandimarte’s own higher education is also rooted in the West Valley. He received an Associate Degree from Phoenix College and his Bachelor’s Degree in Public Safety Administration and Masters in Leadership with emphasis on disaster preparedness both were earned at Grand Canyon University.

Brandimarte is eager to get to work in Fountain Hills, he has quickly taken to the community and the law enforcement objectives ahead.

“I’m honored that the sheriff feels that I am the guy to take this district in the direction we want to go,” Brandimarte said.