Tim Enos returns as schools police chief

When Tim Enos last entered the Sarasota County Schools Police Department, becoming chief of police and executive director of safety and security in 2018, the school board had just voted to create the department earlier that year. 

Now, as he returns to the role of chief of police following his Aug. 24 resignation from the school board, he is back in the department that he oversaw during its early days. 

Enos called it "absolutely great" to be back in the role that he says is his true calling and passion. 

At the time, he said he was focused on the evaluation process, working to understand what the department had implemented in his absence. 

However, he said he also brings the benefits of his experience to the role, noting his personal relationships with the chiefs of local police departments, school principals, and others.

"I have all these personal relationships, and they trust me and I trust them, and that makes my job a lot easier," he said. 

Enos said the department's core mission remains unchanged, although he hopes to enhance the work it is doing and ensure that it does its best not only in regard to state standards, but national standards as well. 

He said the department will "really pick up our game as it relates to training" to enhance what it is already doing, and that a major focus will be on mental health and community engagement, including events that can build relationships between school resource officers and students.

"We're fully staffed. Hopefully, we will continue to be as we move forward," he said. 

Enos says he also plans to exercise transparency. 

"If anybody who asks any kind of a question, if I know the answer, I let them know," he said. "If I don't know the answer, then I always will try to find out that that answer for them."

Enos notes he graduated from Riverview High, along with his three children, and has now lived in the area for 46 years. 

"Protecting kids is something that I've done, including the board, for 25 years, and it's just something that I am really good at, and that I have a lot of pride in taking care of kids, because I truly believe that kids can't learn unless they're safe, and I've got a lot invested in this community," he said.