Full Resume

For the past 20 years, Tom Knight served Florida law enforcement and the people of our state. Now, he is ready to lead law enforcement in Sarasota County, the place he calls home.
Knight, 45, came to Venice as a boy in 1973 along with his parents and four siblings. The son of a block mason and a homemaker, he attended Venice schools and graduated from Venice High School in 1981. He attended Manatee Community College and later transferred to Florida State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology in 1987. Throughout college he held a series of full and part-time jobs, which enabled him to support himself and pay his tuition without the need for financial assistance.

Tom started his law enforcement career when he was hired and trained as a police officer for the City of Sarasota. He patrolled the streets of Sarasota before joining the Florida Highway Patrol in 1988. He distinguished himself as a leader during his 18 weeks of FHP training and was elected by his peers as recruit class president.

For the next 14 years, Tom promoted through the ranks of the FHP and served in posts throughout Florida. In each, he was recognized for his outstanding work ethic and leadership skills. As the supervisor held accountable for the relief and aid operations associated with numerous events—from hurricane recovery to presidential security details—he has already gained a lifetime of experience.

Tom was named an FHP Troop Commander in 2002. He was solely in charge of a seven-county region with more than 300 employees, and a central communications center used by all state law enforcement within his region. He developed a reputation for building and fostering positive intra-agency relationships—with sheriff’s departments, police departments, government offices and more—and working cooperatively with those organizations to ensure the best public service possible.

Tom currently resides in Nokomis with his wife Tracy, a local business owner, and his two daughters, Emily and Elizabeth, who attend Venice area schools. He is enrolled as a graduate student at the University of South Florida, where he has earned 15 credits toward his master’s degree in public administration.

Career Highlights

1987 Patrolled the streets of Sarasota as a Sarasota Police Department member.
1988 Graduated as peer-elected president of the Florida Highway Patrol 81st Recruit Class
1990 Selected as the first-ever FHP member at the rank of Trooper to participate in the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) Management Fellows Program, a one-year leadership development program
1992 Spent seven weeks on site aiding in recovery efforts as one of the first law enforcement officers to enter Dade County after Hurricane Andrew
1995 As an FHP sergeant stationed in Venice, was selected by the agency to develop a pilot program for community-oriented policing with a federal COPS grant. Established a successful traffic-related program in Sarasota County that was used to develop state-wide protocols for the FHP.
1996 Received Manatee County’s Whitey Knutsen Award as the local law enforcement officer whose efforts were most valuable to the community
  Represented the FHP as the supervisor in charge of the agency’s operations for the presidential security detail surrounding President Clinton’s visit to Miami
2000 As an FHP lieutenant assigned to Troop F, served as the agency’s representative to coordinate the security detail protecting presidential candidate Al Gore during his stay on Longboat Key to prepare for his presidential debate
  One of several FHP supervisors sent to Miami to coordinate operations for crowd control during the Elian Gonzalez debacle
2004 Completed the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute’s Chief Executive Seminar
2005 Supervised all FHP operations to provide aid and relief to storm-ravaged central Florida following Hurricane Wilma
2006 Named the Tampa Bay area’s regional coordinator for domestic security rapid response perimeter team
2007 Won the 2007 International Association of Police Chiefs "Chief’s Challenge" as best FHP troop in traffic safety enforcement and education
2008 Supervised the clearing and on-going investigation of Florida’s largest multi-vehicle crash, on I-4 in Polk County