TAMPA — Mayor Bob Buckhorn's short list of candidates to be Tampa's next police chief has three names on it: Assistant Chief Eric Ward and Deputy Chiefs Brian Dugan and Mary O'Connor.
There are no external candidates, and Buckhorn told the Tampa Bay Times on Tuesday that he anticipates naming a successor to police Chief Jane Castor within the next month and a half.
"I'm a big believer of promoting from within unless I sense that the culture is broken," he said, but "there's nothing broken about TPD," He said all three candidates have been groomed for responsibility with an awareness that the department was losing senior leadership.
In May, Castor will complete a one-year extension beyond her original retirement. Last week, Assistant Chief John Bennett retired. In the fall, then-Assistant Chief John Newman left for the top security job with the Hillsborough school district.
"We started to place some of the younger leaders in positions of authority … to test them, to watch them, in anticipation of this day coming," Buckhorn said.
No applications have been submitted, and Buckhorn said he doesn't know that a formal interview process or larger search would tell him anything "that I don't know already." Buckhorn's relationships with police brass go back to taking ride-alongs as a mayor's aide in the late 1980s. "I've known most of those candidates since they were sergeants and detectives. … I've watched them in a lot of different capacities and how they perform."
Of the three, Ward, 48, has been with the department the longest, 26 years. He has also risen to the top the fastest. A year ago, he was one of two captains in the city's District 3, overseeing patrol operations in east Tampa, where he grew up.
In May, Ward skipped the rank of major to become one of two deputy chiefs. Promoted with him was Dugan, 48. Castor has said she created the deputy chief jobs specifically to prepare the two to lead the department. At the same time, O'Connor, 44, became the major over criminal investigations. Six months later, another round of promotions saw Ward move to assistant chief and O'Connor to deputy chief.
"We have a great team between the three of us," Ward said. "Moving forward, no matter who the mayor picks to be chief of police, I'm sure anyone he selects will be a great pick. … I'm honored to be in that group of candidates."
Ward has served throughout the department, including street crimes and narcotics units and as a SWAT team commander. In 2012, he was the lieutenant in charge of special operations, which put him at the front lines of preparations for the Republican National Convention.
Dugan, a 24-year department veteran, had previously been the major in charge of the criminal investigations division. Before that, he was a captain in special operations. In 2012, he was tasked with training officers from other agencies who had been sent to help police the RNC.
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Explore all your options"It's very important that the mayor find the right person to lead our department," Dugan said. "I'm honored to be a part of that conversation."
O'Connor, who has been with the TPD for 21 years, is known for her work combating crime in patrol District 2. As a captain in the criminal intelligence bureau, she was instrumental in uncovering the problem of tax fraud. She is married to Keith O'Connor, who took her place as major over criminal investigations after she was promoted to deputy chief.
"While I am very flattered by the fact that I am even being considered for this opportunity, I am focused on the daily operations of the Police Department and the crime fight," O'Connor wrote in an email. "I know that whatever decision the mayor makes, it will be in the best interest of the community."
Buckhorn said Castor's input will carry a lot of weight, and he stays in regular contact with the Tampa Police Benevolent Association, the union for Tampa's nearly 1,000 sworn officers.
"Any one of them would do a great job," PBA president Vincent Gericitano said. "I love the thought of promoting from within. I have met with the mayor, and I think he and I are on the same page. If it was one of those three, I absolutely would support that decision."
Once Buckhorn makes a selection, the new chief will go to the City Council for confirmation.
Buckhorn said he wants the new chief to emphasize, as Castor has done, that when it comes to interactions between police and people out in the city, "everyone gets treated fairly."
"I've heard her say this at every swearing-in since I've been the mayor," he said. "It's now part of our culture. … You are treated with respect whether you are the CEO of a bank or whether you are a homeless person."