Captain David Bentley
The Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office is mourning one of its own after Captain David Bentley died in a lake accident in Ellery this weekend.
The Sheriff’s Office reports the 62-year old fell into Chautauqua Lake Saturday afternoon while attempting to board a boat. Bentley was not able to get onto the boat or to shore. Family and friends attempted CPR, but Bentley was pronounced dead after arriving at UPMC Chautauqua.
David Bentley starting working in the Sheriff’s Office in 1985. He was a Captain and oversaw the patrol and special teams divisions at the Sheriff’s Office. Captain Bentley worked as a patrol deputy, DWI enforcement detail and then as an investigator with the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force. He was then promoted to a Patrol Sergeant and then Patrol Lieutenant. Bentley was then assigned as the Lieutenant in charge of the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force for many years. He was promoted to Captain in January of 2019. During his tenure at the Sheriff’s Office, Bentley was in charge of the SWAT Team, was a firearms instructor and also taught numerous topics at the Sheriff’s Academy.
Captain Bentley is survived by his wife Kim and children- Erik and Kaitlyn, and his grandson, Sawyer.
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