Osceola’s new “top cop,” Sheriff Christopher Blackmon, introduced himself to St. Cloud residents gathered at the Hunter Arms Hotel Thursday night. Sponsored by St. Cloud Main Street, the event was an opportunity for the sheriff to share both his journey to the office and his goals for the department.
Paula Stark, executive director of St. Cloud Main Street, said Thursday’s event was an opportunity for residents to get to know the new sheriff. “We’re already really connected to our police chief, and we want to make sure that we have that same relationship on this side of the county with our new sheriff. That’s really important for us,” Stark said.
To learn more about St. Cloud Main Street, visit https://stcloudmainstreet.org.
Blackmon candidly shared the story of how his appointment came about, saying he was approached shortly before the arrest of then-Sheriff Marcos Lopez took place. On June 3, his boss informed him of the imminent arrest of Lopez – who was charged with involvement in an illegal gambling enterprise – and told him that he wanted to throw Blackmon’s name in the hat for interim sheriff. After phone interviews with the governor’s office, talks with his wife, and some prayers, Blackmon was offered the position. “I was at FHP working, doing my thing. Less than 48 hours later, the governor decided to appoint me as the sheriff of Osceola,” Blackmon said.
Blackmon comes to the office with more than 35 years of law enforcement experience, most recently as Florida Highway Patrol regional chief over troops C, D, and K, a role that spanned 13 counties and managed nearly 1,000 personnel. He also served as a statewide immigration incident commander for the Florida Highway Patrol and is a deputized U.S. Marshal.
While Blackmon says his work focus is kids and the elderly – what he considers the most vulnerable of the population – he is also determined to make positive changes in a department that needs them.
“We’ve got a lot of good men and women that work there and are doing the right thing,” Blackmon said. “Please don’t let people judge us, the Sheriff’s Office, and the rest of our staff, by a bad person. I can assure you the criminality on that side – the RICO and the gambling – stopped there,” he said. “It tarnished the badge. It tarnished our profession. It’s my job to build it back up.”
St. Cloud Mayor Chris Robertson believes Blackmon’s leadership is a much-needed change to the department. “We’ve got a sheriff in here cleaning up our sheriff’s department,” Robertson said. “We’ve got great deputies over there, but it needed leadership. It’s lacked leadership for several years. That’s what we need: real, honest leadership.”
It appears some former deputies agree. “After I took over, we had 12 applications come in that Monday of people that wanted to come back,” Blackmon said. “I’m like, ‘Why so many?’ And they said, ‘Well, they didn’t like the last command, so they want to come back.’ And I’m like, let’s go!”
St. Cloud Police Chief Douglas Goerke says the heads of law enforcement in Osceola County – Kissimmee Chief Chuck Broadway, Sheriff Blackmon, and himself – will be working together to keep citizens safe. “The collaboration between these law enforcement agencies is seamless,” Goerke said. “We’ve already met multiple times, and I will tell you: bad guys beware, because we are going to be everywhere. We work collectively together to make sure that we keep the county as safe as we can.”
Blackmon agreed. “The criminals don’t care about boundaries,” he said. “Neither do we. So we’re going to work together to solve crime and create a good quality of life for our citizens of Osceola County.”
To learn more about Sheriff Blackmon and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Department, visit https://www.osceolasheriff.org.
