SARASOTA – Following the unexpected retirement of Sarasota Police Chief James Rieser, the City of Sarasota has appointed a new interim Deputy Chief.
City Manager of Sarasota, Marlon Brown has appointed Deputy Chief Rex Troche as Interim Chief of Police for the Sarasota Police Department.
The announcement comes hours after Chief James Rieser announced his retirement because of recent unexpected health issues.
“Yes it did come as a surprise, obviously we wish the chief the best and his family the best and we really hope that whatever the situation is that it is taken care of and he does retire in good health and enjoying the rest of his retirement,” said City Manager of Sarasota, Marlon Brown.
Brown says he appreciates all the work Chief Reiser has done in the past 7 months as Chief and almost 3 decades at SPD.
“The morale in the organization is at the highest point I have ever seen in my 12, 13 years part of this cities organization,” said Brown.
The new Interim Chief, Rex Troche began his career with the Sarasota Police Department in 2002, became a sergeant in 2013, Lieutenant in 2017, and Captain in June of last year. And is the first Hispanic officer to reach the rank of deputy chief at SPD.
“I have great relationships in the community, something I have developed over the years, so I think that is going to help me out immensely,” said Interim Chief of Police, Rex Troche, in an interview for SNN in February.
Now, the search begins for the new Chief. Brown says he would like to engage with the community to make the decision
“Putting together some type of community forum, or some kind of focus group to help me sort of identify the criteria that we are looking for because at the end of the day this person will serve the community, what kind of criteria they are looking for in the next chief, before we start engaging in terms of a recruitment process,” said Brown.
Brown says he knows the officers at SPD will continue to serve Sarasota well.
SOT: “Yes change is different, but they are so adaptable to change that I don’t expect anything less from them of just rallying behind the new interim chief and ensuring the Department provides the service they provide on a daily basis,” said Brown.