Tallahassee Police Promote Eight Officers Into Command Positions
The Tallahassee Police Department promoted eight veteran officers into command positions during the week of July 20, 2026, changing the department’s leadership structure during a period of workforce transition and staffing pressure.
The promotions announced July 20 include two deputy chiefs, one major and five captains. The changes affect multiple levels of the department’s command staff rather than a single appointment at the top.
Calvin Bedenbaugh and Jeff Mahoney were promoted to deputy chief. Sonya Bush was promoted to major.
Charzetta Felton, Anitra Highland Simmonds, Zachary Lyne, Damon Miller Jr. and Laura Varble were promoted to captain.
Eight promotions across three ranks
The promotion list breaks down into three command levels: two officers moving into deputy chief roles, one moving into the rank of major and five moving into captain positions. Together, the appointments represent a broad reshaping of the leadership team within Tallahassee’s police department.
The City of Tallahassee’s public-safety archive lists the July 20 leadership announcement from the Tallahassee Police Department. Local reporting described the promoted officers as veteran members of the department and placed the changes in the context of vacancies and a broader transition in the city workforce.
Deputy chiefs, a major and captains occupy different levels of responsibility within a police command structure. The announcement therefore changes the group of officers positioned to hold leadership roles across the department, although the public announcement does not identify separate operational assignments for each person.
Leadership development during staffing pressure
Police Chief Lawrence Revell said the promotions were intended to help develop future leaders. That stated objective gives the changes a longer-term leadership-development purpose in addition to their immediate effect on the command roster.
The timing also matters for the department’s workforce. The promotions came as TPD addressed vacancies and as the city managed a wider period of workforce transition. That context makes the appointments relevant to more than the eight officers receiving new ranks: they alter the department’s leadership lineup while staffing remains an active concern.
The promotions alone do not establish that TPD’s staffing challenges have been resolved. They put eight officers into command positions, but the announcement does not characterize the changes as a permanent solution to vacancies or state that every command opening has been filled.
What is known about the next phase
The immediate confirmed change is the addition of Bedenbaugh and Mahoney as deputy chiefs, Bush as a major and Felton, Highland Simmonds, Lyne, Miller and Varble as captains. Those officers will form part of the department’s command structure as it continues managing its workforce and developing future leaders.
The public announcements do not disclose new salaries, separate effective dates for each promotion or the number of vacancies remaining afterward. Those details would help show the financial and staffing effect of the changes, but the July 20 announcement establishes the promotions and their leadership-development purpose.
For Tallahassee residents, the practical significance is a changed police command team during an ongoing workforce transition. The reshuffle provides new leadership appointments at three ranks while leaving the department’s remaining vacancy picture and individual assignments to be clarified through later city or department announcements.
Sources
- News Archive | Public Safety, City of Tallahassee
- TPD Promotes Eight to Command Staff as Department Addresses Vacancies, Tallahassee Reports
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