A familiar face is taking the lead of the Kissimmee Police Department.

  • Jeffrey O'Dell is the near Kissimmee police chief
  • Served in law enforcement more than 30 years
  • Wants to bridge relationships with the community

Jeffrey O’Dell never thought he would follow in his father’s footsteps, but witnessing a bank robbery at age 24 changed his mind.

“Honestly, something clicked in me, that at that very moment I stopped by my parents’ house that night on the way home and told my dad that I wanted to be a police officer. The rest is history,” O’Dell said.

He was recently sworn in as the new chief of the Kissimmee Police Department. O’Dell replaces Lee Massie, who left to oversee the Criminal Justice Institute at Valencia College.

Being in law enforcement for more than 30 years, O’Dell says he gains more respect for his colleagues each and every day.

“I completely admire the job that the men and women of this organization do every day,” O’Dell said.

In the past year, a number of KPD officers have been investigated and fired due to wrongful actions. It is mistakes like these that won’t be ignored, he said.

“I have already met with the entire sworn staff of the agency through our block training schedule and we’ve talked about some of the lessons learned,” O’Dell said. “Not only with our agency but we’re looking at things that have been found to be inappropriate across the nation.”

Something O’Dell said he’s going to promote is having his officers go out into the community and engage with residents.

“The most effective way to bridge that gap is through relationships,” O’Dell added. “I am a firm believer that you can’t influence behavior without establishing some sort of relationship.”

O’Dell is working with his team to develop physical police scenarios to better train his officers.