Bartow Police Chief Stephen Walker resigned on August 14 without admitting any wrongdoing, just two days after City Manager Mike Herr received a formal complaint against him from a city employee. A preliminary inquiry has since found the allegations against Walker credible, according to officials, even as a fuller internal affairs investigation continues.
According to Tampa Bay 28, Herr received the employee's complaint on August 12, prompting him and Bartow City Attorney Sean Parker to confront Walker two days later. Walker chose to resign on the spot rather than fight the allegations, the outlet reported, and city officials say he did not admit to any wrongdoing in doing so. The City of Bartow has since launched a formal internal affairs investigation, and officials say the review is expected to take several weeks to complete.
As WTSP reports, Florida law exempts the specific details of employee complaints against law enforcement personnel from public disclosure while an internal affairs inquiry remains active. That means the exact nature of the allegations against Walker has not been made public, and city leaders have declined to elaborate beyond confirming that a complaint was filed and that the preliminary look into it found the claims credible. Bartow officials say investigation findings will be made public as the law allows once the inquiry concludes.
Deputy Chief Steps In Just Months After Arriving
With the top job suddenly vacant, Deputy Chief Kyle Dowdy has been designated as the officer in charge, overseeing daily department operations while the investigation plays out, per FOX 13 Tampa Bay. Dowdy is a relatively new face in Bartow himself, having joined the department as deputy chief only in January after previously serving as deputy chief for the Farmington Police Department in New Mexico. The station's report notes he was selected through a national search that drew 35 applicants from 15 states.
Walker's own rise through Bartow's ranks had been notably quick. He joined the department in 2022 as a commander, was named deputy chief on December 1, 2023, and stepped in as acting chief after Chief Andy Ray retired on April 5, 2024, before being formally sworn in as chief later that year, according to city records. Before coming to Bartow, Walker spent three decades with the nearby Lakeland Police Department, from 1990 until his 2020 retirement, rising to Captain while commanding the Special Operations, Uniform Patrol and Support Services divisions.
A Familiar Pattern of Abrupt Departures
Walker's exit marks the second sudden departure of a Bartow police chief in six years, following former Chief Joe Hall's abrupt exit in May 2020 after an 11-year tenure, according to the Sammis Law Firm. The turnover leaves Bartow — the seat of Polk County government — again searching for stable leadership atop a department headquartered at 450 N. Broadway Avenue, directly across the street from the Tenth Judicial Circuit courthouse.
Bartow's police force operates within a broader Polk County public safety framework backed by a $764.3 million general fund operating budget, a scale Hoodline detailed in its coverage of the county's budget work session. The department has also been at the center of major local law enforcement actions in recent years, including a multi-agency drug takedown and a shooting investigation near the courthouse that Hoodline previously reported.
City Manager Mike Herr, who was appointed in January 2023 after previously serving as city manager in Winter Haven and Plant City and as Polk County Manager, oversaw the confrontation that led to Walker's resignation. For now, Dowdy remains in charge of daily operations as the internal affairs investigation proceeds, with officials pledging to release findings once state law allows.
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