Deputy is not capitalized when referred to as a position.
- “The sheriff had many deputies.”
- “A deputy, a sheriff, and a judge walked into a bar...”
John is capitalized because it is a name.
- “The criminal shot John.”
- “Thank you, John.”
Deputy John is capitalized because it is a title.
- “The criminal shot Deputy John.”
- “Thank you, Deputy John.”
Question: Is deputy capitalized when it is being used as a title and the subject (the noun) is dropped.
Examples:
- “The criminal shot the deputy.” OR “The criminal shot the Deputy.”
- “Thank you, deputy.” OR “Thank you, Deputy.”
What about:
- “Put your hands in the air!" The deputy shouted. OR "Put your hands in the air!" The Deputy shouted.
Edit
I am not a writer but I wrote a fantasy novel as a way to relax. I am currently editing right now and I have learned a lot about grammar but I still have many questions. Sometimes I can find the answers via web searches on English/grammar sites, but this is one question for which I was unable to find an answer.
Most of the use cases would be along the lines of conversation where a persons title is used instead of their name.
Here are some excerpts for references:
- “I would be most grateful for your assistance on the matter, [C/c]onstable.”
- The [C/c]onstable nodded and sat down.
Thanks.