Chief Deputy Bob Gualtieri Starts as Sheriff Tuesday, as Coats Retires

Chief Deputy Bob Gualtieri (pronounced Gwall-terry') will become Pinellas County
Sheriff after midnight, as retiring Sheriff Jim Coats leaves office before his term expires to be with his wife, who is battling breast cancer.

Last month, Gov. Rick Scott appointed Gualtieri to be Sheriff upon Coats' retirement.

Gualtieri will be joined by family and friends at a formal swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday,  at 4 p.m., at the Criminal Justice Center. The ceremony will take place in Courtroom 1, and Chief Judge J. Thomas McGrady will preside.

The transition marks the end of Coats 40-year career in law enforcement. He originally joined the Sheriff's Office to be a helicopter pilot. Monday, he returned to the Flight Section hangar to meet with the media, and for photos with an agency fixed wing plane he piloted or co-piloted over the years.

Coats was elected to his first term as Sheriff in November of 2004, and re-elected in 2008. Coats cited many accomplishments during his term:

• Sound management of the Sheriff's Office through a challenging economy while making public safety the priority.
• Expansion of youth programs, such as the Sheriff's Police Athletic League to serve at-risk children.
• Opening of a new firearms training complex and a new K-9 facility.
• Partnering with community agencies to develop life skills programs at the county jail.
• Opening Pinellas Safe Harbor Shelter, a jail diversion program that provides services to the homeless.
• Developing a countwide Narcotics Task Force to deal with illegal sales and abuse of prescription drugs.