Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 3-24-20

Feature
Retired Tampa Police Officer Following Through On Dream
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
As a youngster growing up in Brandon, Ronald (Ron) McMullen said he always told his friends that he’d be Sheriff of Hillsborough County one day.
Well, he believes that day has finally come. He recently registered to become a candi- date in the Hillsborough County race for Sheriff. The election will be held in Novem- ber, along with the Presiden- tial election.
Spending time with an ail- ing sister, McMullen once considered discharging the idea of running for public of- fice. But, his sister encouraged him to follow his dream. That’s what he’s doing.
When asked about a glitch in his run for office regarding party affiliation, McMullen said, “The party doesn’t mat- ter. You’re the Sheriff for all –
for the entire County.” A regis- tered Democrat, McMullen will be on the ticket as a no- party affiliation. “Just look for Ron McMullen on the ballot in November,” he said, “and go to ronmcmullen.com to do- nate.”
McMullen changed his party affiliation from Republi- can to Democrat, but did not do it in enough time to run for office in the November elec- tion.
McMullen is a 30-year veteran of the Tampa Police Department. Over his distin- guished career, he served in multiple roles in upper leader- ship, culminating with the rank of Major and Com- mander of the department’s Special Operations Division. As a Training Officer, Detec- tive in the Narcotics Bureau, Corporal, Sergeant, Lieu- tenant, Captain and, ulti- mately, Major, Ron McMullen was a leader in the
Retired from the Tampa Police Dept., Major Ron McMullen
field.
As a SWAT Team member,
he served as the team’s “Breacher,” always the first through the door when dan- gerous situations arose. Highly
respected by his subordinates and peers alike, a reputation for being plain spoken and transparent guided his ascent through the department.
Currently, McMullen is the President of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 27, where he has been a Board Member for over 15 years.
Beginning his college ca- reer at Brown University, Mc- Mullen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice from St. Leo University and a Master of Science degree in Criminology from Florida State University. He has com- bined traditional education with extensive in-the-field training to secure a compre- hensive view of criminal jus- tice and allow him to be knowledgeable in policy, strat- egy and tactics.
Some of his criminal jus- tice specific education in- cludes: - Executive Strategic Management - Florida Crime
Information Center and Na- tional Crime Information Cen- ter Limited Access Certification - The Crime Free Multi-housing Program - Ap- plied Evidence-based Policing Practices: Homicide and Vio- lent Crime Reduction - Crimi- nal Justice Information Services Limited Access Certi- fication - Fair and Impartial Policing - Leadership in Police Organizations - Law Enforce- ment Officers Flying Armed Seminar - Professionalism and Leadership in Law Enforce- ment - Spanish for Criminal Justice Professionals - Ethics in Government.
Ron grew up in East Hills- borough County, he attended and graduated from Brandon High School. The son of an Air Force Engineer, he learned the lessons of hard work and suc- cess through education.
McMullen resides in Fishhawk Ranch. He has an eleven-year-old son, Roman.
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