Orlando Police Chief Rolón eyeing move south

Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón is in the running to become chief of police at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, records show.

A list of eight semifinalists for the open chief position provided by the City of Fort Lauderdale lists Rolón among its candidates, and Orlando Police Department spokesperson Autumn Jones confirmed Thursday that Rolón is “in a selection process” for the position.

Rolón declined to comment on the application process. OPD referred further questions to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

Det. Ali Adamson, spokesperson for the Office of the Chief at FLPD, directed questions to the City of Fort Lauderdale, which did not

City of Orlando Chief of Police Orlando Rolón. respond to multiple requests Thursday.

Documents obtained from city officials by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel earlier this month show three internal candidates under consideration for police chief and five police officials from across Florida and the nation. Officials told reporters they anticipated narrowing the list to four by mid-June.

Rolón has worked with the Orlando Police Department since 1992 and was sworn in as the agency’s 39th police chief in 2018. He is the first Latino to hold the position.

He formerly served as a deputy chief in charge of OPD’s Patrol Services Bureau, including during the shooting at Pulse nightclub in June 2016, and has held positions in most of the agency’s departments over his career.

When sworn in as chief, Rolón said he would prioritize officer wellbeing and pursue de-escalation and mass-casualty incident training for officers.

In response to calls for racial justice and police reform over the past year, Rolón helped usher in changes at OPD, including banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants, starting a pilot program to send mental health professionals to certain calls and initiating outside reviews of the agency by police consultants to assist with community engagement.

Rolón received criticism from some officers over the past year for “pandering” to the community in response to demands for reform and failing to support and defend officers against “anti-police rhetoric,” an officer survey showed. Local activists said OPD’s reform under Rolón has not gone far enough to address the needs of the community.

Other candidates vying for the Fort Lauderdale position come from similar leadership roles.

Three of the semifinalists named by the City of Fort Lauderdale were internal: Interim Assistant Chief Frank Sousa, Maj. Dana Swisher and Capt. Bill Schultz. The other five are Dennis Jackson II, retired assistant chief for the Miami Police Department; Heather Morris, assistant chief for the Houston Police Department; Larry Scirotto, retired assistant chief for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police; and Kristen Ziman, chief of the Aurora (Ill.) Police Department.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department has been primarily operating under the direction of Assistant Chief Karen Dietrich since July, when City Manager Chris Lagerbloom demoted former Chief Rick Maglione over statements defending the agency’s response to citywide protests for racial justice.

In February, Dietrich announced she planned to step down from the role.

RICARDO