The Office of the Chief is responsible for the overall administration and leadership of the police department, ensuring the department is aligned with the City Council’s Strategic Direction of providing cost-effective municipal police services and police related infrastructure through the optimal use of department resources, continual measurement of quality of services and fostering community engagement establishing a customer-centric organization.
Interim Chief Michael Walek
Michael Walek was named interim chief in May 2023 upon the retirement of Chief Daniel Slaughter.
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., he has been with the Clearwater Police Department since 1997. He was appointed as deputy chief in May 2022.
The overall administration, philosophy, strategy, and leadership of the department is the responsibility of the chief of police. The Office of Professional Standards reports directly to the chief of police in support of the overall quality control of the police department.
The mission of the Clearwater Police Department is to consistently provide effective, professional and dependable law enforcement services to every citizen, visitor and business within the city of Clearwater.
Clearwater officers embrace a “preservation-of-all-life” philosophy and practice a community policing approach that is customer-service-centric. Clearwater officers make our community better by preventing crime and effectively responding to crime. They are trained to be “community champions” who engage our citizens, solve problems and improve the quality of life in Clearwater.