Chief's Corner: Bradenton Police Department

The Bradenton Police Department will swear in its 14th Chief of Police, Josh Cramer, in July. In January, Chief Melanie Bevan announced her plans to retire from the department this summer after 39 years of service in law enforcement.

After an extensive interview process, Mayor Gene Brown nominated Cramer to lead the agency, and the City Council confirmed his appointment in May. Cramer has 30 years of experience in law enforcement. He joined the department in 1995 after earning a B.S. in Criminology from Florida State University and graduating from the Law Enforcement Academy in Tallahassee.

Cramer spent eight years as a patrol officer before rising the ranks to Sergeant (2003), Lieutenant (2011), Captain (2015), and Assistant Chief of Police (2016-2022). He retired in 2022 and was subsequently elected to the Bradenton City Council, while continuing to serve as a reserve officer.

Throughout his tenure with the Bradenton Police Department, Chief Cramer received several prestigious awards, including BPD's Officer of the Year Award (2007), Commendation Bar (2010), and 16th Congressional District Law Enforcement Gary Tibbitts Career Service Award (2022).

In addition to extensive ongoing law enforcement training, Chief Cramer attended the FBI Florida Executive Development Seminar in 2015 and the FDLE Chief Executive Seminar in 2016. Chief Cramer's swearing-in ceremony is July 8th at 9 a.m. at the R.B. "Chips" Shore Historical Courtroom.