Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw To Retire In August, Move To USF Role

TAMPA, FL — Tampa police Chief Lee Bercaw will retire on Aug. 6, ending a career of more than 30 years with the city, according to a news release from the Tampa Police Department.

Bercaw has spent the last three-and-a-half years serving as chief after rising from a reserve officer on Tampa streets to lead the agency.

After retiring, he’ll join the University of South Florida’s College of Behavioral and Community Sciences in the criminology department as an associate professor of instruction.

He will help instruct and coordinate the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Administration program at USF, police said.

Mayor Jane Castor also selected Assistant Chief Brett Owen to serve as acting chief of police when Bercaw retires. Owen will remain in that role until the next mayoral election.

"Chief Bercaw came up through this department as a young officer and leaves as one of the finest law enforcement leaders this city has ever seen. Thirty years is a long time to give yourself to something, and he gave Tampa everything he had," Castor said in a statement provided by the department. "Under his leadership, this department became a national model for what modern, community-oriented policing looks like. Chief Bercaw made us safer, stronger, and I am deeply proud of what we built together."

Bercaw described his time leading the department as part of a broader push around crime reduction, community trust and employee support.

"We did not simply reduce crime in Tampa, we demonstrated what effective, modern policing looks like when it is rooted in community trust and a commitment to officer and employee wellness," Bercaw said. "As I prepare to pass the torch and help shape the next generation of law enforcement leaders, I do so with the full knowledge that the men and women of this amazing department will continue to protect and serve this city with unmatched integrity."