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Pinellas Park police Chief Dorene Thomas announces retirement

 
Pinellas Park police Chief Dorene Thomas, right, hugs her second-in-command and successor, Mike Haworth, at the announcement.
Pinellas Park police Chief Dorene Thomas, right, hugs her second-in-command and successor, Mike Haworth, at the announcement.
Published Jan. 8, 2015

PINELLAS PARK — Dorene Thomas began her policing career about 40 years ago as a tricycle-riding parking meter reader on Pass-a-Grille for the St. Petersburg Beach Police Department, as it was called then.

"I wasn't very good at it," Thomas said. Despite that, she had career goals: "I was hoping that one day I'd be sergeant."

She made sergeant and a whole lot more. When she retires from the Pinellas Park Police Department on April 24, she'll leave behind a string of firsts. First female police chief in Pinellas Park. First woman to head the Tampa Bay Area and Florida Police Chiefs associations. First chief, male or female, in the state to go through the Crisis Intervention Training program, a 40-hour intensive course designed to teach police the safest ways to interact with mentally ill residents they encounter on the job.

Thomas made the official announcement to her 150-employee department Tuesday during a kickoff ceremony celebrating the Pinellas Park Police Department's 100th birthday. She'll be replaced by Mike Haworth, the department's assistant police chief.

"It has certainly been my honor to have served with each and every one of you," she said in a voice filled with emotion. Pinellas Park, she said, "is the best gosh darn place to work."

Her choked voice was a far cry from Thomas' usual even tones spoken in a voice so low the listener has to be quiet to hear the words. The emotion was not the first over her decision to retire, Pinellas Park City Manager Doug Lewis said.

"We've shared a few tears in the last few weeks talking about retirement," Lewis said. "It's going to be a huge loss. … She's really put her stamp on the department — and the state, too."

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri agreed that Thomas influenced a lot of departments across the state to become more interested in handling mental health issues differently through her involvement in the intervention training program. Not only did she go through the program, she made sure all her officers had an abbreviated version while she funneled them, a few at a time, through the entire program.

"She'll be missed," Gualtieri said. "She's respected throughout the community."

When Thomas first came to the Pinellas Park in 1980 as a patrol officer, it was vastly different than it is today. There was no women's locker room. The evidence locker was in the men's locker room. Thomas said she had to knock on the door when she wanted to store some evidence. There were only 38 officers. (Today, there are 102, making it the fourth-largest municipal department in Pinellas.) She spent two weeks on the road, then was made an undercover vice officer.

David Milchan, who was hired as Pinellas Park's chief after Thomas began working in the department, said this week that she quickly caught his attention. He gave her advice on how to get ahead. She became a sergeant. Then lieutenant. When Milchan left abruptly after then-City Manager Jerry Mudd accused the chief of threatening him, she became interim chief. Two months later, in October 2000, Mudd made her chief.

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Thomas took over a beleaguered department. Three female officers had filed state and federal claims that they were victims of sexual harassment and bias. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had ruled that the department had discriminated against one of them. Two male officers had filed union grievances claiming they were named on a "hit list" of officers targeted for firing. A survey was about to conclude that Pinellas Park police officers worked in a "climate of fear."

"We were going through a lot," Thomas said. At the time, Thomas said she thought, "I'm not sure if I should be doing this, but I've got good people."

Pinellas Park city and police officials say she transformed the department, making it more open to the community and recognizing the efforts of her officers. The department began a homeless outreach program and created a squad dedicated to the problems of business owners and residents in the city's community redevelopment area along Park Boulevard and 49th Street N.

"We've got a great police force because of her," Pinellas Park council member Rick Butler said. Butler and council member Ed Taylor were serving on the council when Thomas was appointed. Taylor, who calls her "Chiefie," said he hates to see her leave.

"Will she ever be forgotten? Nope," Taylor said. The changes in the department speak "deeply, deeply about her as a person. Her style has been something to sit back and appreciate."

It's her fashion sense that many will miss. Thomas is known for her love of hats and socks.

"The sillier the better," she said. And the fact that she's in uniform doesn't stop her from indulging her love of crazy socks. Under her dress uniform Tuesday, she wore a pair of black socks with tic-tac-toe grids filled with X's and red hearts instead of O's.

For all the emotion of the announcement, Thomas reminded people Tuesday that she's sticking around for a while:

"I haven't left yet. There's a lot of differences to make in the next few months." She paused for an evil chuckle, then said, "Stand by."

Contact Anne Lindberg at alindberg@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8450. Follow @alindbergtimes.