Windermere Deputy Chief Jennifer Treadwell retires

With tears in her eyes and a waver in her voice, Jennifer Treadwell signed off for the last time as a law-enforcement officer Friday, Aug. 19. She has been the deputy chief of the Windermere Police Department since 2013 and is retiring after a total of 35 years in the law-enforcement field.

Her final call: “Dispatch from Windermere 2. Be advised that after 35 years of proudly serving as a law-enforcement officer, it’s time to close a chapter and start a new one. So today is my last official day as a sworn officer. I just pray that God watches over all the men and women, all the first responders and the law-enforcement family and support personnel.”

The last portion of her message was directed, in part, to Police Chief Dave Ogden: “And to Windermere 1, thank you for your leadership, and to my family at the town of Windermere … thank you for the last nine years.”

Treadwell and Ogden were a powerful team that began working together in 1996 running the COPS community policing unit with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Ogden was a sergeant, and Treadwell was promoted to corporal and assigned to his squad.

“Through the years, as we got promoted, we sometimes connected again,” Ogden said.

When he was hired to lead the Windermere Police Department in 2013, he asked Treadwell to join him.

“When I came it was a troubling time, and pretty much I came with my established command philosophy,” he said. “We realized we needed to rebuild the entire agency and take on a completely new command staff team. … I asked her if she would come aboard as our deputy chief.

“We’ve done some amazing things together,” Ogden said. “She’s been a leader for females in law enforcement since I’ve known her.”

FIRE AND POLICE

Treadwell grew up wanting to be a firefighter like her father, but, she said, God had other plans. While in college, she started working as a dispatcher for the former Metro-Dade Police Department. She entered the police academy in 1987 and worked for seven years as an officer with MDPD before serving as a field training officer and a school resource officer in South Dade County.

After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, she was persuaded to come to Central Florida and in 1993 became a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. She was the first female deputy to be hired under the newly elected Sheriff Kevin Beary.

Treadwell remained with Orange County for more than 20 years, serving in assignments that included uniform patrol, field training and evaluation program, Metropolitan Bureau of Investigations, special operations and youth services.

While there, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice administration.

In 2003, she asked to attend a South Florida class geared toward mental and physical preparedness for female law-enforcement officers. She then developed a course for Orange County, which was held for 25 female deputies at OCSO before being opened up to officers throughout the state.

“She’s led with excellence,” Ogden said. “I could not have done it without her. We just have an amazing working relationship. Our strengths and weaknesses just complement each other. …

I’ve had the utmost trust in her. She has been a consummate professional. We are both administrative people, with, both visionary and attention to detail. That’s definitely one of her strong suits. And that detail was what brought us here today.”

Ogden credited Treadwell for assisting with getting the new police station and for helping the department get accreditation, which should happen in early 2023.

“That’s always been our dream, our goal, our focus — to set the bar so high that it doesn’t matter who replaces us, that that bar is set so Windermere doesn’t have issues like it has in the past,” Ogden said.

LIFETIME ACHIEVER

Treadwell’s retirement party is Sept. 9. Ogden said she will be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for her entire career from the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association.

At the end of the year, the Windermere Police Department will hold its annual awards ceremony, where Treadwell will receive the Medal of Merit for outstanding work and meritorious service in the town of Windermere.

Retirement is just a word to Treadwell, who, although she won’t be a sworn officer, is going to remain with the police department as a part-time accreditation manager. She said she also will volunteer her time with fundraisers, including the annual event remembering Officer Robbie German, and community events, such as the Bunk Bed Build and National Night Out.

And if the front desk needs her assistance, she’s willing to show up for that too.

Her retirement was official Aug. 21, two days after her last call.

“It’s bittersweet because it’s something that I’ve done all my life,” she said. “It was my profession, and it’s hard. It’s difficult to know that you have to close that chapter and you move on. That’s the way life should progress — in that journey you go on.”

Leaving the sheriff’s office was a tough decision, too, she said.

“But at the end of the day I knew I had more to offer at Windermere,” she said.

“In this position, I would tie together years of experience and assist with changing the agency's culture through positive transitional leadership. Developing promotional processes, writing and revamping policies and procedures, and serving in the absence of the chief of police are just a few of the duties and responsibilities I would assume.”

Jayson Bonk has been promoted from sergeant to deputy chief to fill Treadwell’s position.

“He stayed on after the former administration, and he’s always wanted to be a part of making that change, and he’s done a fantastic job,” she said.

Ogden wished Treadwell well on her next chapter, and his sentiments included a post on his personal Facebook page:

“Words cannot express my profound appreciation for our partnership over the years. One of the best decisions I ever made was asking you to come to serve as our deputy chief here in Windermere. I simply couldn't have done it to this level of excellence without you. Over 26 years, we have always valued the utmost trust, respect and professionalism for one another. We believed in serving with excellence at our jobs and loving our families.

“Thank you to your family for their selfless sacrifice in giving up their mom and wife for so many special occasions.”