Sarasota Police Captain Rex Troche Promoted to Deputy Chief
Sarasota Police Chief James Rieser announced today the promotion of Captain Rex Troche to Deputy Chief. With nearly 20 years of service to the city of Sarasota, Deputy Chief Troche was promoted after Pat Robinson accepted a position as Deputy City Manager with the city of Sarasota. Troche is the first Hispanic officer to achieve the rank of Deputy Chief.
“I’m excited to work alongside Deputy Chief Troche and promote him to our leadership team,” said Chief Rieser. “He has a passion and commitment to our city, residents and visitors and our community policing philosophy. Deputy Chief Troche has been and will continue to be a leader for our community and agency as we keep moving forward to continue to make the city of Sarasota a safe place to live, work and play.”
Deputy Chief Troche grew up in Chicago where his father, Confesor Troche, served as an officer with the Chicago Police Department for 24 years. When his father retired, the Troche family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. Deputy Chief Troche attended Lakewood High School and St. Pete Junior College in St. Pete and earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of South Florida in 1994.
In 1997, he began his career in law enforcement with the Largo Police Department. During his time with LPD, he was a Field Training Officer, SWAT member, Traffic Homicide Investigator, Narcotics Detective, driving instructor, and defensive tactics instructor. After five years with LPD, Deputy Chief Troche and his wife wanted to move to Sarasota to raise their family.
Deputy Chief Troche began his career with the Sarasota Police Department in 2002. He’s served in all four agency divisions (Patrol, Professional Standards, Criminal Investigations, and Support Services) as either an officer or supervisor. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2013, promoted to Lieutenant in 2017. In 2018, Deputy Chief Troche earned his Master’s Degree from Saint Leo University in Emergency Management and was promoted to Captain, the first Hispanic officer to achieve the rank of Captain in June 2020.
“I’m honored and humbled to continue serving our community and agency alongside Chief Rieser,” said Deputy Chief Rex Troche. “Growing up in Chicago, having the chance to be with my father at work and seeing community policing first hand with the elderly and in socioeconomic neighborhoods, is part of the reason I chose to serve as a police officer. I firmly believe in community policing because I was raised and grew up in community policing.” “I also want to thank my wife, who has been my rock throughout this journey. She always encourages me to promote and further my education. Without her never-ending support, none of this would have been possible.”
Deputy Chief Troche is a member of the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, and FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development. He and his wife live in Sarasota County and are the proud parents of three daughters. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family and working out.
Photo from Sarasota Police Department