TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Harmon to stay as St. Petersburg police chief

Staff file photo

St. Petersburg police Chief Chuck Harmon said he wants to stay on as chief after 27 years with the department.

ADVERTISEMENT

By MARK  DOUGLAS | News Channel 8

Published: November 10, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG - St. Petersburg soon will have a new mayor, but the city will have the same chief of police, despite substantial differences with Mayor-Elect Bill Foster that flashed repeatedly on the campaign trail.

"He will be my police chief," Foster said after a private one-hour meeting with Chuck Harmon this morning.

During the election, Foster pledged to loosen up the department's pursuit policy. That earned him the support of the police union, though Harmon said it would be dangerous.

After their meeting, Harmon suggested his disagreement with Foster wasn't so dramatic after all.

"I don't think we're too far apart as people envisioned originally," Harmon said. "Officers want to catch the bad guys, and so do I. It's just how you do that."

Foster said he's reluctant to make comments on chases or other police policies in "dribs and drabs" but is trying to learn more from the chief and others so he can determine exactly how the department runs before making any changes.

"It's just a huge education," he said.

During the campaign, Foster also said he'd like to restore community police officers in St. Petersburg – something Harmon did away with in recent years. Tuesday, he said he moved to a different "model" of community policing but never abandoned the concept.

"Instead of 10 percent of my force doing community policing, I now have 100 percent doing it," the chief said.

Both men said their initial post-election meeting went well.

"I think today was a situation where we both got to look into each other's eyes and (agreed to) be willing to compromise on issues that are important to us," Harmon said.

Harmon said he wants to stay on as chief after 27 years with the department.

Foster said he might have policy announcements to make as early as next week after settling into his transition office inside city hall.

He assumes the office of mayor Jan. 2, after Mayor Rick Baker steps down after eight years in office, almost all of it with Harmon as his police chief.

Mark Douglas can be reached at (727) 451-2333.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT