Chief Deputy Fowler began his law enforcement career in 1994 with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Road Patrol. He has served in numerous positions from Internal Affairs, Captain of the Criminal Investigations Section, and Commander of Staff Services. From 2006 through 2011 he was assigned as the SWAT Unit Commander. In 2018, newly elected Sheriff, Todd Baxter, selected him as Chief Deputy of the agency overseeing all Police Bureau functions.
Chief Deputy Fowler successfully completed the Basic SWAT Operators Course in 1999, the Tactical Commander’s Course in 2005, the Basic Hostage Negotiations Course in 2006, and the Tactical Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction Course in 2007. Since 2011, he has been focused on improving law enforcement’s compliance with the NIMS Incident Command System as well as assisting with developing and implementing the agencies' Response to Active Shooter Protocol and the county wide implementation of the Rescue Task Force concept for critical incidents.
Chief Deputy Fowler is a certified police Instructor who teaches police recruits, veteran officers, and supervisors on the Incident Command System and Critical Incident Management. He has also served with the New York State Division of Criminal-Justice Services developing training and operating standards for SWAT Teams across the state, as well as lesson plans for law enforcement response to critical incidents. In 2020, he was selected to serve on the Board of Directors for RESOLVE, an organization in Rochester, New York dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
Chief Deputy Fowler is also a veteran of the US Army Military Police Corps; having led soldiers in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the site of the World Trade Center Attacks after 9/11, and 12 months in the Sunni Triangle during Operation Iraqi Freedom. As an Operations Officer, he led the Tactical Operations Center for the Military Police Forces response to both Hurricane Lee and Superstorm Sandy. His achieved the rank of Colonel and concluded his career as a Brigade Commander. In 2020, he retired after 30 years of service with the New York Army National Guard.
A graduate of the SUNY College at Brockport, the US Army Inspector General School, USA Command and General Staff College, the National Security Management Fellowship of Maxwell School at Syracuse University, and the FBI National Academy. Some of his military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor device and Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Achievement Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with 2 M Devices, the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with Shield Device, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the NATO Medal. Chief Deputy Fowler resides in the Town of Greece with his wife and daughter.