Law Enforcement Bradenton Police Chief Talks Past, Future After Announcing Retirement

BRADENTON — "45 years is a long time," says Michael Radzilowski as he talks about his career in police work and his decision to retire, which he advised his officers of on Saturday. Speaking over the phone on Monday, Radzilowski, who will be 65 in July, says he is proud of his 13 years as Chief of the BPD and its accomplishments during his tenure, which he credits to the department's men and women.

Chief Radzilowski (official photo)

But he also says that spending so many years in his position has had an expected price. "There's nothing magical about it. I think worrying about crime and protecting 55,000 people in the City of Bradenton is to be taken very seriously, and that has taken a toll," he says.

Decisions on whether to fire officers also had an impact, Radzilowski adds. "That weighed heavily. But if you were what I considered a person who should not be considered a police officer, I did my duty and due diligence trying to protect the people of the community from bad cops by firing them."

Another factor has been family: "I've got an elderly mother with dementia that I want to take care of. I want to see more of my new grandkids, spend more time with church. There are a lot of things I want to do that don't involve worrying about 150 people and their families."

Looking back at his time as Chief, Radzilowski says he's most proud of not just the community policing he helped implement, but the crime rate drop that the city has experienced between 2003 and 2015: 35.5 percent when taking population changes into account, and 69 percent in raw numbers.

"That's a huge number," he says before adding that perception persists of Bradenton having more crime than it does in reality, which he thinks is largely due to the rise of social media and the 24-7 news cycle. "Even though we have far less of it, it's in the news right away; that's just the nature of the beast. But people in this city are much safer than they were 13 years ago."

Before stepping into Bradenton City Hall those 13 years ago, the chief had started his career in police work in 1970 for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. After his promotion to Commander of the Special Operations Division, Radzilowski took control of the city's SWAT, bomb and helicopter units, in addition to several others. He retired from the MPD after 31 years.

More than a year after retiring to Florida, he found himself interested in an opening for the city's position of Police Chief. That wasn't part of the original plan when he moved to the state, he says. "When I moved down here, my elderly parents lived in Venice, and my original plan was to retire (from police work)."

But in 2002 he was named as BPD Chief, replacing the late Al Hogle, who left to become Police Chief of Longboat Key. Upon taking the position, he told the press that "once you get it in your blood, it's always in your blood."

Radzilowski's last month as Chief of Police will be December. As Police Commissioner, Mayor Wayne Poston will conduct a search for his replacement.