TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The Tallahassee Police Department promoted eight officers to key command staff positions Monday as the department continues to adjust following the city’s voluntary separation program, which led to the departure of several high-ranking employees.
The promotions mark the second round of leadership changes following the buyout.
The city’s voluntary separation program, announced in April, was offered to employees hired before Jan. 1, 2026, as part of a cost-saving effort. Employees who accepted the offer received either $20,000 or 12 weeks of pay, along with health insurance through the end of the year.
Many high-ranking TPD employees took the buyout, including all three of the department’s deputy chiefs among others.
“When the buyout happened, we lost a lot of people really fast, but at the police department we were certainly sad to see our friends leave, happy that they were retiring and finally reach that milestone, but there was just excitement at the department because we knew that we had talented people that were ready to step into these roles,” TPD Chief Lawrence Revell said.
On Monday, TPD promoted two deputy chiefs, one major and five captains. Revell said the newly promoted officers represent the next generation of leaders and will help lead the department for years to come.
“This is the group that’s going to lead for years to come, and they’re an incredibly talented group, and our community can rest assured that the Tallahassee Police Department is going to continue to be the national leader in law enforcement,” Revell said.
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One of the newly promoted deputy chiefs is Jeff Mahoney, who has been with the department for 28 years. He said his focus will remain on reducing crime in Tallahassee.
“I’ll be in charge of investigations, which is very important, so I’ll be in charge of homicides and shootings, so violent crime obviously is a big thing we want to continue to decrease in the city of Tallahassee, so I’ll make sure that I’ll do everything I can to make that happen,” Mahoney said.
Revell also said the department has continued to focus on building a police department that reflects the community it serves.
“The women that we have represented in this group, that is years and years of work through the Tallahassee Police Department to be that progressive agency that we are, and you’re seeing the evidence of that now,” Revell said.
Newly promoted Major Sonya Bush, who has been with TPD for 23 years, said she is looking forward to improving internal systems while continuing to serve the community.
“Some of the things I’m looking forward to once I’m in the new role is reevaluating all of our systems in the way that we do them and seeing if there’s any way we can improve those,” Bush said.
Five officers were also promoted to captain during Monday’s ceremony. Those promotions follow another 11 officers who were promoted during the department’s previous ceremony.
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