- November 26, 2024
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Rex Troche is no longer the interim chief of the Sarasota Police Department.
On Thursday, Troche shed the interim tag when City Manager Marlon Brown appointed him SPD’s 13th chief, having served as interim since former Police Chief Jim Rieser retired in August 2021.
“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 will be sworn in during a ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday at SPD headquarters. The ceremony will be streamed live on the City of Sarasota and Sarasota Police Department Facebook pages.
“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,” Troche said. “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.”
“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."
Sarasota City Manager Marlon Brown
While Troche served as the interim chief, 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.
Brown had told the Sarasota City Commission he would make a decision by the end of April whether he intended to promote SPD’s next chief from within or continue a nationwide search. He also reserved the option to name the chief by the end of the month.
Respondents to the City Manager’s survey of stakeholder groups said they valued leadership skills within the department (23%) and professional management skills (19%) as two of the most important qualities in a police chief. Other priorities included community involvement (20%), a focus on diversity and inclusion (11%), communication skills (10%) and technical policing skills (10%).
Troche has served in all four agency divisions — patrol, professional standards, criminal iInvestigations and support services — as either an officer or supervisor. He was promoted to sergeant in 2013, lieutenant in 2017 and captain in 2020. He was appointed deputy chief in 2021.
“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,” said Sarasota Mayor Eric Arroyo. "This is why, as we continue to promote from within, our city presently boasts a record low in most crime statistics.”
Troche earned a Master's degree in emergency management from Saint Leo University. He is a member of the Florida Police Chiefs Association, Hispanic American Police Commanders Officers Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, NAACP and the Police Executive Research Forum.
“Rex Troche’s impressive record of leadership, professionalism and community involvement are a great asset to the department and to our citizens,” Arroyo said. “We are truly blessed to have a servant of his caliber among us.”
Troche has been married to his wife, Kelly, for more than 23 years, and they have three daughters.
