The Clearwater Police Department has a new leader.

Daniel Slaughter, a veteran of more than two decades with the Clearwater Police Department, was named the department's new chief on Tuesday.

City Manager Bill Horne made the announcement, picking the patrol commander as the 13th chief of the department after an internal search.

Former Chief Tony Holloway's move to the same position in St. Petersburg last week prompted the opening.

"I commend the city manager (Horne) on his selection of Chief Slaughter who has risen through the ranks of the Clearwater Police Department," said Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos. "I am confident in Chief Slaughter's ability to provide the leadership needed to maintain the outstanding service of the department and the high standards set by Chiefs (Sid) Klein and (Tony) Holloway."

Slaughter said he's pleased with how the department is run and plans to continue and build on current community policing programs.

"If there is a first priority it is to deal with the ripple effect of the promotions and to collaborate with my command staff and also to start putting myself out there in the community, meeting the community one-on-one face to face in whatever forms I can,” he said.

The new chief wants to talk with the department and community about top priorities. He's proud of the work he's done with homeless programs.

"It's not designed to criminalize homelessness, I'm very proud of the way it is approached, getting people who are suffering from homelessness and getting them to the right services to get them out of that situation,” he said.

Slaughter said whatever the problem, he wants to get to the bottom of it.

"I'm a research-driven person, I look at a problem, I try to make sure to identify the right problem and don't just shoot from the hip and so I always want to identify the right problem and develop a plan to address those issues,” he said.

Maurice Mickens, president of the North Greenwood Community Coalition, hopes the new chief continues working with what he calls the transitioning area of North Greenwood community. He also hopes working with youth is a top priority, too.
 
"We must stop the violence and the criminal activities before they get started, we can't wait until they're adults or wait until they're teenagers in order to work with them,” said Mickens.

Before his selection as chief, Slaughter was the major in charge of patrol operations for two years. In that position, he oversaw approximately 171 uniformed officers and three dozen civilian employees.

He also formerly worked as the department's special operations lieutenant, accreditation supervisor, homicide detective, community police officer, and a field training officer.

"I am fortunate to inherit an organization that benefits from a strong, positive relationship with the community and is staffed with skilled and committed officers supported by a professional civilian staff," Slaughter said. "The future will still bring challenges and I look forward to effectively addressing those challenges and building on this agency's well-deserved reputation for being a leader in community policing."

Slaughter, 44, has been with the department since October 1992 and will earn $123,000 as the new chief. He is a graduate of Largo High School and the University of South Florida.

Slaughter will be sworn in at the August 7th council meeting.