Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor is slated to retire in 2014. She will not be a tough act to follow. She will be an impossible act to follow.
For openers, there’s her incredible breadth of experience. The Tampa native practically grew up in the TPD. She’s worked street crime and guarded presidential candidates. She’s served in the Patrol Division, Narcotics Bureau, Criminal Investigative Division, Criminal Intelligence Bureau and Administrative Division. When she was Assistant Chief, she directed all district operations, the Special Operations Division and the Public Information Office.
Since being elevated to chief in 2009, she has presided over a steadily declining crime rate, was a pillar of dignified strength during the Dontae Morris manhunt and was the linchpin in coordinating security for last summer’s incident-free GOP convention.
Moreover, Jane Castor, a University of Tampa and National FBI Academy grad who holds a Master of Public Administration from Troy State University, is also a historic figure. She’s the first female TPD chief of police as well as openly gay. In 2009 she was named the Law Enforcement Executive of the Year by the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives. Her role modeling is as invaluable as it is unprecedented.
Castor, 53, deserves better than the DUI-debacle-from-hell case that now hovers over TPD. Sure, she could have acted more quickly and assertively. Her instinct is to have her officers’ backs. We all can do better in hindsight. Chief Castor deserves context for her years of exemplary service to this community–regardless of what the FBI investigation yields. She also deserves our support and gratitude. She’s still an impossibly tough act to follow.