Tampa police chief to retire for top security job at Coca-Cola in Florida

Tampa Chief of Police Eric Ward has announced that he will retire at the end of the month to take a job in the private sector.

Ward, a 29-year-veteran, will be taking the position of director of security for Tampa-based Coca-Cola Beverages Florida LLC.

“This is an exciting day for Chief Ward. It’s a sad day for me and the city,” Mayor Bob Buckhorn said during a news conference Thursday morning.

Assistant Chief Brian Dugan will serve as interim chief while a national search is conducted.

Ward said it was not an easy decision to make, or one that he took lightly.

“I have spent 29 years of my life working for this agency, basically my entire adult career,” Ward said.

Ward was sworn in chief in 2015, following the retirement of his predecessor, Jane Castor. At the time, Ward said he had set goals to focus on violent crime, the youth and police officer training an he felt confident that he had met those goals.

Violent crime rates in the city dropped 16.5 percent from 2015 to 2016.

“The department is in good shape. You have great leadership at this agency moving forward, and I’m looking forward to the next chapter,” Ward said.

A specific last day for Ward has not yet been decided but will be sometime before the end of July.

Ward thanked the mayor for giving him a chance, department leadership, every member of the force and the community.

“Two years ago you when I took over this office, I was still unknown, but the community embraced me and together we were able to do great things for this city,” Ward said.

The announcement was made to leadership at the department earlier Thursday, followed by a department-wide memo to all officers and employees.

Buckhorn made the official announcement to the media.

“For 29 years he has served the city amazingly well in virtually every capacity you could possibly imagine,” Buckhorn said. “He has excelled in everyone of those jobs, particularly in the job of chief of police.”

His tenure with the department included stints with the Tactical Response Team, Honor Guard, Hostage Negotiation Team, the Criminal Intelligence Bureau, K-9, Gang Suppression Unit, Firehouse Program, Street Anti-Crime Squad and the Selective Enforcement Bureau.

“This department is a better department because of Chief Ward,” Buckhorn said.

This story was originally published July 6, 2017 at 6:30 PM with the headline "Tampa police chief to retire for top security job at Coca-Cola in Florida."