Philip B. Sweeting — Deputy Police Chief (Retired)
Areas of Expertise: Law Enforcement
I am retired from the Boca Raton Police Department (FL) with over twenty-six years of law enforcement experience. I retired as the Deputy Chief of Police and held that position for over eight years. During my career, I served at all levels in the department including Interim Chief of Police. During this period as Interim Chief it was necessary to finalize and present the budget to the city council, two promotional exams were given, contract negotiations were being conducted, and the Police Executive Research Forum conducted a favorable management study of the police department. I was selected as Manager of the Year for the City of Boca Raton as a result of my performance as Interim Chief.
I have worked for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (C.A.L.E.A.) as a Team Leader evaluating police departments in both the U.S. and Canada to ensure their policies met accepted police practices. I have also been used by the Florida Commission on Accreditation as an assessor for state accreditation.
As a team leader for C.A.L.E.A., it must be demonstrated that you can deal diplomatically with community leaders, public officials, and law enforcement officials in order to be successful. In addition, the team leader must have a thorough knowledge of police procedures, possess writing, administrative and organizational skills, demonstrate leadership, and on occasion resolve conflicts that may arise between assessors and agency personnel.
During my tenure as Deputy Chief of Police, part of my direct responsibilities were planning and training, accreditation, internal affairs, final review of all Use of Force and Police Pursuit Reports, and recruitment and hiring. I also had supervisory responsibility for the Records Division, Investigative Division and Road Patrol.
My education consists of a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. I am a graduate of Northwestern University's “School of Police Staff and Command” and the “Senior Management Institute for Police” conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). In addition I have attended over fifty seminars related to law enforcement and local government some of which include Dignitary Protection presented by the U.S. Secret Service, Management, Oversight and Monitoring of Use Of Force, Lethal and Less Lethal Force and Taser Instructor Certification. Other areas of study have been the following:
Taser Instructor Certification
Lethal and Less Lethal Force
Management, Oversight and Monitoring of Use Of Force
Crime scene technology
Fingerprint analysis and development
Death investigations
Dignitary protection
Kidnap – Hostage Negotiations
Critical incident and tactical operations
Leadership and supervision
Policy development
Budget development
Career development
Ethics in police leadership
Allocation of personnel
Sexual harassment
Media relations
Advanced Internal Affairs
Breathalyzer Operator
Accident Investigation
My specific duties for the last three years of employment were accreditation, recruitment and hiring, and internal affairs[1]. As the accreditation manager my duties included reviewing and/or writing all police department policies to ensure they were in compliance with all state and federal laws, court decisions and standards as required by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies. As a result, my knowledge of police policies and procedures is extensive.
Concerning recruitment and hiring, I had direct responsibility for the hiring of all police officers and indirect responsibility for civilian personnel. As a result, I have extensive knowledge of hiring procedures and requirements for law enforcement personnel.
My responsibilities concerning internal affairs were final approval of all internal affairs investigations and investigating serious and /or potential criminal complaints. In addition, as the Deputy Chief, I had responsibility for review and approval of all use of force reports, emergency preparedness plans and police pursuit reports.
Since retirement I have worked as a police expert/consultant for both plaintiff and defense attorneys and have testified in both Federal and State Court as an expert in police practices. I have either testified and or provided consultation in the following areas:
Use of force (Testified in Federal Court and State Court)
Arrest
Negligent hiring, supervision, and retention
Internal affairs
Florida Mental health Act, Baker Act (Testified in State Court)
Background investigations
Police hiring
Developing questions for taking depositions of police officers and experts
Police Shootings (Testified in both Federal Court and State Court)
In custody deaths
Fingerprint analysis
Photo Line-ups/investigations (Video testimony in State Court)
Domestic Violence 911 call for service (Testified in State Court)
In addition, due to my background in crime scene procedures, training and experience, my skills in this area have also been beneficial in police shooting cases. In such cases I have reexamined shooting scenes and in two such cases, I have recovered rounds that have been fired by the police yet were not recovered by their crime scene personnel. In one such case the round was discovered three years later and it was determined that an additional round had been fired by the police that they had not originally been accounted for. In addition a trajectory analysis was done of the 14 shots fired by the police.
My specific qualifications/training for crime scene procedures is as follows:
- State of FL certificate no. 14-0670 for Crime Scene Procedures
- Miami-Dade Community College: Crime Scene Technology – 120 hrs.
- Palm Beach Junior College: F.B.I.: Crime Scene Technology – 40 hrs.
- Broward Community College: F.B.I.: Fingerprint Classification – 40 hrs.
- Broward Community College: F.B.I.: Advanced Latent Fingerprints – 40 hrs.
- Palm Beach Junior College: F.B.I.: Bombing Investigations -32 hrs.
- American Society of Clinical Pathologist: Comprehensive Death Investigation
Education:
Florida Atlantic University Bachelor of Arts in Political Science
Boca Raton, Florida
School of Police Staff and Command Ten week police management school
Northwestern University
Evanston, Ill
Senior Management Institute for Police Three week police management North Andover, Massachusetts school for executives sponsored by the Police Executive Research Forum
Chief Executive Seminar Management school for police Tallahassee, Florida executives presented by FDLE
Dignitary Protection Training by the Secret Service.
Washington DC
Law Enforcement Experience:
10/99 to present: Work as police expert witness for private attorneys concerning police procedures. Testified in both Federal and State Court.
6/73 to 10/99: Boca Raton Police Department
10/26/98 — 10/6/99 Deputy Chief of Police — with the appointment of a new police chief, I returned to my duties as deputy chief.
5/6/98 — 10/25/98 Acting Chief of Police — with the retirement of the former Chief, I assumed the chief's duties. During this period the budget was finalized and presented to the city council, contract negotiations were being conducted, two promotional exams were given and the Police Executive Research Forum conducted a management study of the police department.
1991-5/6/98 Deputy Chief of Police- I have had overall responsibility for Support Services which consisted of the Investigative Division, Records Section, and Planning and Training. My specific assignment for my last three years of employment was Internal Affairs, Recruitment and Hiring, and Accreditation.
1988-1991 Patrol Captain — Division Head for Uniform Patrol which consisted of approximately eighty sworn and civilian personnel.
1987-1988 Lieutenant: Investigations — Responsible for the supervision of two Sergeants, ten investigators, and four crime scene technicians.
1985-1987 Patrol Lieutenant — Responsible for supervision of two Sergeants and fifteen patrol officers.
1984 -1985 Sergeant: Investigations — Responsible for assigning and supervising investigations.
1981-1984 Patrol Sergeant — Performed various road patrol supervisory duties. Directly responsible for a platoon of seven officers.
1980-1981 Investigations[2] — Primarily investigated burglaries but was also homicide crime scene technician.
1973-1980 Patrolman — Performed various duties as a road patrol officer including training officer, breathalyzer operator, and crime scene technician.
Military Service:
US Navy
1968-1971 — Served on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. Last duty assignment was Saigon, South Vietnam.
Awards: National Defense service Medal; Vietnam Campaign
Medal; Vietnam Service Medal with one Bronze Star; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.
Received Honorable Discharge.
Awards:
Manager of the Year for the City of Boca Raton in 1998.
[1] It was during this period I was also Interim Chief and supervised the transition of my specific duties in anticipation of retirement.
[2] The City of Boca Raton did not have a "detective" rank but the duties performed were what a layperson would call a "detective".