Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 7-30-21

Feature
Tampa Police Chief Retires After 31 Years Of Service
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
For the past 31 years, Chief Brian Dugan has been a fixture at the Tampa Police Department. But on Monday, Chief Dugan an- nounced his retirement.
He joined in 1990 and worked throughout the City in various capacities. Through the years, as he rose in rank, he held key roles that established the de- partment’s standing in the community.
As Chief, he took an ac- tive role in the community steering the department through several critical times.
Shortly after assuming the reigns as chief with the retirement of Chief Eric Ward in 2017, Chief Dugan experienced a num- ber of things that were not part of the day-to-day oper- ations. The end of 2018 brought about the hunt for the Seminole Heights Serial Killer. Four people were murdered before a suspect was taken into custody.
The next obstacle Chief Dugan faced was the safety of the citizenry and employ- ees during the preparation for Hurricane Irma. He reached out to several ath- letes with the Bucs and Tampa Bay Lightning.
He invited those athletes to participate in the Citizen’s Academy to gain a better un-
CHIEF BRIAN DUGAN ... Retires after 31 years of service
derstanding of law enforce- ment.
In 2020, Chief Dugan joined government and community leaders in the fight against COVID-19 and the importance of protecting front line workers as well as citizens.
He also advocated for better transparency follow- ing the death of George Floyd at the hands of Min- nesota police officers.
He was part of the Mayor’s Task Force and the discussion of Race Relations with Community leaders. He is also credited with imple- menting the Body Worn Camera Program.
He led the department through the untimely death
RUBEN DELGADO
... Named Interim Chief
of MPO Jesse Madsen, who was killed in a traffic accident March 9, 2021. Chief Dugan said MPO Madsen sacrificed his own life to save others from a wrong-way driver on the in- terstate.
In sports, he helped the city to celebrate as the Tampa Bay Bucs won Super Bowl LV, and Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup Vic- tory.
His last day is September 30, 2021.
Mayor Jane Castor said, “Chief Dugan has had a remarkable career as an innovative leader, with a passionate focus on commu- nity engagement and inter- action. Our community
owes him a debt of grati- tude, as his steady guidance and leadership of America's finest police department has been nothing short of out- standing. I am grateful for his service and friend- ship through the years."
Hillsborough County
State Attorney Andrew Warren said, “Brian Dugan has confidently led TPD through what has been the most challenging time to serve as police chief in a gen- eration. We have always ap- preciated his dedication to our community, the strong partnership between our of- fices, and everything he’s done to help make Tampa the safest city in our state.”
Mrs. Carolyn Collins
said, “The announcement Monday morning that Chief Brian Dugan submitted his intent to retire to Mayor Jane Castor was a normal process in the day-to-day ac- tivities of government busi- ness. Over the past years, as a founding member of the City of Tampa Police Citi- zens Review Board (CRB), I have interacted with Chief
Dugan on numerous occa- sions. We have respected each other professionally and worked cordially to change and implement new and revised policies and im- prove communication be- tween TPD, CRB and the community.
“We have not agreed on everything, but we managed to pursue different ap- proaches, enhanced and eliminate policies and pro- cedures and to achieve im- proved solutions for the benefits of the community as a whole.
“Chief Dugan has re- sponded “no” when I have said, “yes,” but we have con- tinuously found a way to make things better for the City of Tampa. Chief Dugan was flexible yet per- sistent on what he felt was required for a quality law enforcement department.
“I enjoyed my years of working with Chief Dugan primarily through the CRB and I wish him God’s speed, good health and much suc- cess in his future endeav- ors.”
FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2021 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY PAGE 9-A