Kevin Beary (born May 12, 1957) was

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

from 1993 to 2009 of

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

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, heading the Orange County Sheriff's Office, one of the largest law enforcement bodies in the

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Biography

Beary is the son of former

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was fo ...

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

Police Chief Ray Beary, and the brother of Police Chief Richard Beary. His educational background includes a bachelor's degree from

Liberty University Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...

and a master's degree in criminal justice from the

. He was first elected in 1992 as a Republican. After election to his fourth term, he changed his party affiliation to Independent. After Beary's election in 1992, Marianne Scholer, a former top-ranking woman in the Orange County Sheriff's Office was demoted and reclassified from major to lieutenant. She accused Sheriff Kevin Beary of sexual discrimination and filed a lawsuit which was settled in 1995 against a payment of $76,250. In 2005, Beary had his aides use driver's license records to find the address of a journalist at the

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

who wrote an article critical of him, so that he could write her a letter in response. This was a violation of the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994. In 2004 and 2005, Beary was accused of corruption by a former subordinate turned political rival in the 2004 sheriff's race and a local television news station. This resulted in an audit of

homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

spending by his department. Beary was later cleared of any wrongdoing by a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation. On April 20, 2007 the Florida Ethics Commission found probable cause to believe that Beary violated Florida ethics laws as a result of his involvement in his homeland security business and filed four counts against him. Beary was prosecuted by the Florida Attorney General's Office and was to face trial on October 24, 2007 before a State of Florida Division of Administrative Hearings Judge on Case # 07-001820EC where Beary could have faced penalties up to removal from office. In 2009 Beary pleaded guilty to violating Florida ethics laws. He was fined a total of $20,000 and ordered to have no business relationship with the company he started using tax dollars and public employees for three years and given a public reprimand and censure by the Governor of Florida. Beary did not run for reelection in 2008, instead endorsing Democratic candidate

Jerry Demings Jerry L. Demings (born June 12, 1959) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer serving as Mayor of Orange County, Florida, in office since 2018. A Democrat, he previously served as Sheriff of Orange County, Florida, from 2009 ...

. Demings won the election, and took over from Beary on January 5, 2009.

Awards

In June 2003, Sheriff Beary was named Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriffs' Association. In 2002 he received the Professional Achievement Award from the

. In 2001 he was given the local Hispanic Community Award. In 2000 he received the local Police Athletic League Award. He is also the recipient of the

Silver Beaver Award The Silver Beaver Award is the council-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. Upon nomination by their local Scout council and with the approval of the National Court of Honor, recipients of this award are registered adu ...

from the Central Florida Council of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

. In 1996 he was recognized by the

National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Officers National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. The local

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

chose him as their Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.

Appointments

Beary was appointed by (former) Governor Jeb Bush to co-chair the Florida Domestic Security Task Force (Region V) on terrorism. He served on the FBI's Executive Advisory Team for Homeland Security. Beary was president of the Major County Sheriff's Association, Central Florida Criminal Justice Association and the Florida SWAT Association. He serves on the D.A.R.E. America Operations Advisory Committee and is past chairman of the National Police Board of G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training). Beary was selected by the American Society for Industrial Security as a member of the Society's International Standing Council on Global Terrorism.

References

External links

Orange County Sheriff's OfficeFebruary 2007 Ethics report
notes "Beary may have violated the code of ethics" {{DEFAULTSORT:Beary, Kevin University of Central Florida alumni Living people Florida sheriffs Liberty University alumni People from Winter Park, Florida 1957 births