Plant City police mourn death of former colleague

The death of Tampa Police Officer Jeffrey A. Kocab has fellow officers mourning in more than one police department.

Kocab, one of the two Tampa police officers gunned down in the line of duty this morning, worked as a Plant City policeman for three years from Feb. 27, 2006 to April 20, 2009, when he was hired by the Tampa department. His wife Sara is nine months pregnant.

"In law enforcement we experience such tragic events from time to time," Plant City Police Chief Bill McDaniel said this morning. "But when an officer you know and worked with is lost it strikes more to the heart."

"It was shocking when I heard that Kocab had been killed. A lot of people here built and maintained a close friendship with Jeff. This is a personal loss for a lot of people in our department."

McDaniel said Kocab was an enthusiastic, dedicated and energetic officer.

"Jeff was turbo-charged when he was in the field. He was very intelligent and a thoughtful officer in the way he approached his job.

Kocab was a well-trained officer, according to his personnel file. He received over 240 hours of training covering 88 different policing courses, including 36 hours of mandatory retraining through FDLE. His training included courses on defensive tactics, crime scene management, deadly force policy, several firearm qualification courses, defensive force and use of force.

He was honored several times, including being named officer of the year in 2007. Other commendations included employee of the month four times from 2006 to 2008.

At the Tampa Police Department, Officer Jason Ward served as Kocab's field training officer when he came over from Plant City police just over a year ago.

"Jeff was a phenomenal officer, a real go-getter," Ward said. "He was a fire-breather; a very active officer, very productive. He was one that would do right by the city."

The slain officer was respected by other officers, Ward said, even though he had only been on the force for a year.

"He'd be out there looking for bad guys," Ward said. "He was the kind of guy you'd want to show up on your call."

On the other side, was his humanity, he said.

Kocab "could show compassion and caring no matter who you were," Ward said. "He was just a great, great person. He's just a true ideal of a sheepdog. He was a protector."

Kocab "was more than just an officer," said fellow officer Whitney McCormick. "He was the go-to officer. He loved his job and the man had more energy than this whole room combined."

Kocab received above-average marks and high praise from his supervisor, police Sgt. Robert C. Nassief, in his most recent evaluation in April.

Nassief called him an "exceptional learner," with good judgment and skills at community relations. The sergeant said he personally saw Kocab use his calming demeanor to put people at ease, including an instance where he worked a burglary where the victim had been victimized for the third time.

Kocab made 596 traffic stops, issued 374 traffic citations, and made 108 arrests during the year while answering nearly 2,100 calls for service, the evaluation said. He received special recognition from Police Chief Jane Castor for helping with a traffic stop that apprehended a suspect who battered a law enforcement officer and eluded capture.

Kocab wrote in his evaluation that he liked his job.

"I'm very happy to be here and look forward to continuing my career here at TPD," he wrote.