TAMPA, Fla. — Lee Bercaw has been unanimously approved as interim Tampa police chief.
Bercaw was approved Thursday morning during a city council meeting.
"In my role as interim chief I promose to uphold the highest form of law enforcement in every encounter," Bercaw said while addressing the council.
The move follows the resignation of Chief Mary O’Connor.
Last month, O’Connor and her husband were stopped by a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputy while riding in a golf cart without a license plate outside of a residential area in Oldsmar.
The incident was recorded on the deputy’s body-worn camera, showing O’Connor flash her badge and ask to be let go from the traffic stop.
Bercaw, who has been with the department since 1997, was named acting chief the same day O’Connor resigned. Bercaw has worked in all of the city's three districts.
Castor described Bercaw as a “...thoughtful and highly regarded leader in progressive policing.”
According to his city of Tampa bio, Bercaw is well versed in large-scale events Tampa has hosted like Gasparilla, Super Bowls and the Republican National Convention.
He is a board member of the Tampa Area Chiefs of Police Education and Research Foundation.
Also, he was named to the University of South Florida’s Wall of Fame in 2016 as an outstanding criminology ambassador. He holds a doctorate in Criminal Justice from St. Leo University, as well as a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from USF.
Castor has not said when a new permanent chief of police would be named but the nationwide search is underway.