TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Mayor Jane Castor announced Friday that she has chosen interim Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw to be the city's permanent chief.
“It's a career I've been doing for the last 27 years,” Chief Bercaw said during a Friday morning press conference. "The only thing that will change
Bercaw said his goal was "to enhance community policing" and that the "community wants to feel safe.
"It's feeling safe," Bercaw said. "It's not just low crime stats. It's how you feel in the community."
Bercaw's words echoed those spoken shortly before by Mayor Castor.
"We cannot be successful if our city is not safe and not perceived as safe by our community," Castor said earlier in the press conference.
The city had been looking for a permanent chief since the previous chief, Mary O'Connor, resigned in December of 2022. O'Connor's resignation came just days after it was revealed the chief was stopped by a Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy on Nov. 12.
O'Connor said she used "poor judgment" when she was stopped for operating a golf cart without a license plate in Oldsmar. During the encounter, O'Connor asked the deputy if his camera was rolling before telling him she was the Tampa Police chief and showing the deputy her badge.
"I'm hoping you'll just let us go," O'Connor told the Pinellas County Sheriff's deputy.
O'Connor also gave her business card to the deputy, saying, "If you ever need anything, call me."
Following O'Connor's resignation, NAACP Hillsborough Chapter President Yvette Lewis called for an open, nationwide search for her replacement.
"I think it definitely was a safe choice for them. We can always do better by bringing in a fresh pair of eyes to an organization that has been plagued with controversy throughout the years that has been going through a lot of ups and downs. And so I think the fresh pair of eyes would have definitely calmed the spirits of the community. The conversation, and it's not just this really does not affect African American people, it affects all people. Because there are so many calls that we get into this office, that people that don't even really look like me. But, you know, he's here, so we got to work together, and we're gonna figure this out," she said.
Lewis says what's next for them is building a relationship with the new leadership at TPD.
"There will be some community conversations. There will be some private conversations. There will be some monthly conversations, but out of those conversations, words without actions is absolutely zero. So what we need is to put some meaning behind those words, put some strength in your words with your actions, with your power. What can we do together? Things may have to come to a change within the department and with some understanding within the community. But this is a two way street. And we're both going down in opposite directions. And so how do we end up together?"
Bercaw's position isn't final. City council still have to confirm him. Mayor Castor says the earliest that could happen is June 15th.
