Sarasota’s New Police Chief Named, Troche Appointed To Role: City

SARASOTA, FL — After serving as interim police chief since August 2021, Rex Troche has been named Sarasota’s next chief of police.

Troche, who began his career with the Sarasota Police Department in 2002, is the city’s 13th police chief and its first Hispanic chief. He’ll be sworn in Friday at police headquarters.

He stepped into the interim role last summer when former Chief James Rieser retired abruptly after seven months on the job due to unexpected health issues.

Rieser replaced former Chief Bernadette DiPino, who suddenly resigned after a complaint was filed following a joke she made about Tasering a mentally ill homeless man who heckled officers during a Nov. 18, 2020, Sarasota Opera performance outside Sarasota police headquarters.

During Troche’s time as the interim chief, City Manager Marlon Brown conducted an extensive listening tour, engaging with dozens of community organizations, neighborhoods, advisory boards, elected officials and the city’s two police unions to gather their feedback about what attributes they’d like to see in the next chief, according to a news release from the city.

Respondents to the survey said they valued leadership skills within the department (23 percent) and professional management skills (19 percent) as two of the most important qualities in a police chief.

Other priorities included community involvement (20 percent), a focus on diversity and inclusion (11 percent), communication skills (10 percent) and technical policing skills (10 percent).

“Interim Chief Troche has essentially been interviewing for the job every day for the past eight months, and during that time, as well as throughout his career with our organization, he has demonstrated he possesses the qualities of the kind of chief our community needs and desires,” Brown said. “It’s my pleasure to appoint someone who has risen through the ranks of our organization to this position, and I know he will do an excellent job representing Sarasota.”

Troche has served in all four agency divisions — Patrol, Professional Standards, Criminal Investigations and Support Services — as either an officer or supervisor. He was promoted to the ranks of sergeant in 2013, lieutenant in 2017 and captain in 2020.

“Chief Troche understands that in times of crisis, we aren’t judged solely by how many crimes are brought to justice - we are also judged by our commitment to this great city and the constitution that we’ve sworn to defend and to the values that we’ve pledged to protect. This is why, as we continue to promote from within, our city presently boasts a record low in most crime statistics,” said Mayor Erik Arroyo. “Rex Troche’s impressive record of leadership, professionalism and community involvement are a great asset to the department and to our citizens. We are truly blessed to have a servant of his caliber among us.”

Troche earned a master's degree in emergency management from Saint Leo University. He is a member of the Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA), Hispanic American Police Commanders Officers Association (HAPCOA), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). Last year, he graduated from the Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP), a leadership program hosted by the Police Executive Research Forum.

“I am honored and humbled to lead the dedicated men and women of the Sarasota Police Department. I will continue to promote our community policing initiatives, focus on reducing gun violence and increase the visibility of our officers in the city,” said Troche. “I’m excited to move our agency forward by hiring the best and brightest officers who will reflect our community. I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to build trust, transparency, and lasting relationships with the citizens of the city of Sarasota.”