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Assistant Police Chief Flies 'Under Radar'

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By VALERIE KALFRIN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 6, 2008

TAMPA - A photo of the chin-length red hair and bushy beard Michael George had as a narcotics detective inspires a smile beneath his trim salt-and-pepper moustache.

His looks and his rank have changed over the years, but his undercover attitude has not. "I'm an under-the-radar guy," he said.

George, 50, retires today after 29 years with the Tampa Police Department, finishing his career as one of two assistant chiefs. His accomplishments include supervising a police district with a steady crime drop over four years and investigating a drug-smuggling operation that resulted in what's still considered the largest marijuana bust in department history.

His low-key leadership is irreplaceable, said police Chief Stephen Hogue, who could name George's successor next week.

"The citizens of this city don't realize what they owe this unassuming, quiet guy," Hogue said Wednesday. "He's the guy who took the whole concept of crime reduction and got the ball rolling."

Before Hogue promoted him to assistant chief of investigations and support in April 2007, George supervised District 1 in South and West Tampa. Hogue recalled that supervisors talked in generalities about reducing crime until George started combing through statistics and crime reports by shift and asking, for instance, "What are you doing about these burglaries?"

Others followed George's lead, and partly because of that focus, the city's crime rate dropped about 44 percent from 2003 to 2007, Hogue said.

"He started driving down that there's somebody at high rank paying attention around here," Hogue said. "He got down into the weeds with people and made everyone accountable for what was happening."

The Business Of Reducing Crime

George said finding measurable impact is something he always has enjoyed, from tallying his sales pumping gas on the New York State Thruway to working on drug squads.

"I think no matter what you do in life, you should have a business model in place. You have to have goals of what you want to accomplish," George said. "You can't just flounder around out here."

George said he relates the police department to the insurance business, which has measures of success. "Government should run as much like a business as it can," he said. "We made it our business to reduce crime, and we put measures in place to see if we're successful."

As assistant chief, George oversees the investigations, narcotics and gang units and manages the department's budget of about $120 million. This year, he found himself held accountable before city council after a city audit discovered police officers bought 25,718 gallons of premium instead of regular gas. The difference in cost was about $3,000.

"I had a reputation of being pretty stingy about where our money's going, like you should do with your household budget," he recalled. "That's $3,000 we didn't need to spend."

George grew up in Alden, N.Y., east of Buffalo, and later moved to Sebring. He graduated from the University of South Florida in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and joined the Tampa Police Department that June.

He Was Part Of Major Pot Bust

In 1986, he was assigned to a task force involving Tampa police and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

A bust involving 4,500 pounds of high-grade marijuana worth about $6.4 million smuggled aboard a sailboat from Jamaica led to the convictions of 15 people and George being named Officer of the Year in 1987.

His mementos from those days are typical of his subdued style: news clippings, ID cards, photos of him with other agents.

"I come in every day and try to focus on what our goal is at that particular time and give credit where credit is due," he said. "If you hit a hole-in-one, that's all on you. ... Truly, in this business, there is no 'I.'"

George's most visible example of teamwork lately is a cast on his left forearm. He broke his wrist in May playing three-on-three basketball with Hogue and Assistant Chief Jane Castor against other supervisors and officers.

"Never broke a bone in my life," he said, noting it occurred on his 22nd wedding anniversary, of all days. He refers to his wife, Kathy, their 19-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter as "the team behind the team."

With their children in college, George said, he and his wife are looking forward to having time to themselves and for traveling. "When the urge to tackle my next adventure comes about, we'll deal with it then," he said.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story was incorrect about the city's crime rate. It fell about 44 percent from 2003 to 2007.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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