Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw Retires Thursday; Brett Owen Set as Acting Chief

Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw is scheduled to retire Thursday, August 6, 2026, beginning a temporary leadership transition for the Tampa Police Department.

Mayor Jane Castor has selected Assistant Chief Brett Owen to serve as acting chief after Bercaw’s retirement, according to the City of Tampa. The city says Owen will remain in that role until the next mayoral election. The announcement does not make Owen Tampa’s permanent police chief or identify a permanent successor.

Bercaw’s retirement takes effect August 6

Bercaw is retiring after more than 30 years with the Tampa Police Department, including the last three and a half years as chief. The city announced his retirement June 9 and set August 6, 2026, as its effective date.

The city also announced that Bercaw plans to join the University of South Florida College of Behavioral and Community Sciences as an associate professor of instruction in the Department of Criminology. FOX 13 Tampa Bay independently reported the planned teaching move after the June 9 announcement.

Owen will serve as acting chief

Owen is currently listed by the city as an assistant chief of police. A separate April personnel announcement says he provides direct oversight for the department’s deputy chiefs of operations and investigations and support, documenting his command-level role within Tampa police.

After Bercaw leaves, Owen is expected to lead the department in an acting capacity. That gives Tampa police an identified command structure for day-to-day leadership during the interim period.

The city’s announcement ties the acting assignment to the next mayoral election. It does not say that a permanent chief has been selected, and it does not establish Owen as the department’s permanent chief.

What changes for Tampa residents and personnel

For Tampa residents, the immediate change is who heads the city’s police department beginning August 6. For police personnel, the announcement identifies Owen as the acting leader after Bercaw’s retirement.

The city has not announced a policy or operational overhaul connected to the transition. Based on the available announcement, the material change is the scheduled leadership handoff: Bercaw retires August 6, and Owen is set to serve temporarily until the next mayoral election.

What happens after that election remains unresolved in the city’s announcement. The permanent chief-selection question is separate from Thursday’s scheduled acting-chief transition.

Sources

• City of Tampa: Chief Bercaw Announces Retirement
• FOX 13 Tampa Bay: Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw retires, takes teaching job at USF