BARTOW, Fla. – In a move to bolster its command staff, the City of Bartow announced on Tuesday that it has selected not one, but two new leaders to serve as Deputy Chiefs for the Police Department.
Following a national search that drew 35 applicants from 15 states, city officials selected Kyle Dowdy, a decorated military veteran from New Mexico, and Darrell Wilson, a Bartow native with extensive state-level investigative experience.
The initial recruitment effort, conducted in partnership with Strategic Government Resources (SGR), aimed to fill a high-level leadership void. However, according to city officials, the interview panels—comprised of citizens, employees, and external agencies—were so impressed by both finalists that the decision was made to bring both on board to expand the agency’s community policing initiatives…