STUART – After seven years as police chief and 28 years with Stuart Police, Joseph Tumminelli is retiring from the job, effective June 6, he wrote in a Facebook posting.
“On Friday, March 28, 2025, I officially submitted my retirement paperwork to (City Manager Michael) Mortell, concluding a career that has been both challenging and rewarding,” he wrote. His career also includes two years with the State Department of Corrections.
In less than 24 hours that he gave his notice, he was made aware that an officer was involved in a March 29 shooting at the Sierra Condominiums on Southeast Monterey Road, west of U.S. 1, in Stuart. A man, later identified as Kenneth Christopher Cook, 36, armed with a knife lunged at an officer, who fired his gun and killed the suspect. The officer was placed on paid administrative leave, per department policy…