FULL STORY: Sarasaota Police Chief Hollaway retiring in fall

The low-key announcement regarding the retirement of Sarasota’s police chief is fitting for the man known for his calm demeanor and desire to stay out of the spotlight.

At the end of the Sarasota City Commission regular meeting Monday night, interim City Manager Terry Lewis made a brief announcement that Sarasota Police Chief Mikel Hollaway was retiring in October and the city would start a search for a new police chief.

The city hired Hollaway two years ago to replace former Police Chief Peter Abbott, who resigned in the wake of a scandal that involved an alleged payoff of a victim who said police used excessive force during his arrest.

Hollaway was the department’s first African-American police chief, sergeant, lieutenant and captain.

Hollaway has served in every division of the department except criminal investigations. When he was hired as chief, former City Manager Bob Bartolotta stated that institutional knowledge is what gave him a leg up on the other 144 applicants.

Hollaway, 52, has 30 years of experience with the department, makes approximately $132,000 a year and is enrolled in the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP). Hollaway’s pending retirement is not a surprise at City Hall because the DROP program mandates that an employee receives additional pension dollars for five years before they must retire.

Lewis said he would get the ball rolling with city staff to advertise the position for a new police chief, although the city’s future city manager will make the final decision. Lewis called the selection of a new police chief a No. 1 priority for the city manager who will be selected by the commission in late July or early August.

Hollaway said as chief he’s most proud of working with Commissioner Willie Shaw to start a new community policing effort in Newtown. That effort led officers to work with community leaders, church officials and drug dealers to help curb the violence in North Sarasota.

Hollaway said he looks forward to traveling and helping his wife with a new accounting business she started.

“It’s just my time to go,” Hollaway said. “I helped my department during a difficult transition, and I’m proud of that.”