Belardo on the Beat

It’s hard to imagine there’s ever been a more popular choice for police chief than Joe Belardo. The packed city council chambers have likely never seen so many happy people as the crowd that was there to see Belardo sworn in by Marco Island city manager Casey Lucius on Wednesday, August 12.

Belardo, who was police chief in his hometown of Schodack, New York, worked his way up through the ranks on Marco Island, where he started as an officer. 

“There's a certain amount of trust that's there because I've been here for almost seven years,” Belardo said. "I'm a known quantity. I have that institutional knowledge coming into this role. I recognize the value of what they do."

City of Naples police chief Ciro Dominguez was on hand for the swearing-in.

“From the Naples Police Department and from the City of Naples,” Dominguez said, “we wish Chief Belardo all the best. We're here to help him in any way we can, to share either experiences or be able to bounce off ideas. Since our cities have similar issues to deal with, whether it be crime issues, trends issues, resource issues, we're here to partner with the chief, and we look forward to his success and the betterment of the whole of the community."

Lucius, who chose Belardo as interim police chief after former police chief Tracy Frazzano’s sudden resignation, said she is looking forward to working with Belardo.

"I'm excited,” she said. "I'm excited that the police department is moving in a new direction under Chief Belardo's leadership. I know we're going to continue to move in the right direction. Build on our improvements, build trust in the community, and just continue to enjoy the camaraderie in the police department and among all city departments."

Lucius confirmed that it was her decision to hire Belardo.

"I was grateful to have input from the interview panel who were full of law enforcement professionals,” Lucius said. "They provided me some unique insight and expertise. But ultimately, I had to make the decision. And we did have some very highly qualified candidates, but it was clear that the internal candidate and the interim chief was the way to go."

Belardo is thrilled to be the pick to lead the Marco police department into the future. 

"It feels good,” he said. “It’s been a very interesting and exciting past three months (since he was named interim chief). It's nice to come to this point now. I've been really happy with the way things are going. I think that the members of the department, the public, and all the other partners I have in public safety have all been very supportive. I'm really excited about where we're going to go from here. I'm very happy."

The big smiles on the faces of the police officers in attendance were evidence of their enthusiasm for Belardo as chief.

"That's a pretty powerful endorsement,” he said. “These are the guys that everybody runs into daily. Yes, somebody has to be the leader. But I look at a couple of things. One, the people that interact with the public, the guys on the street, the people in the office, people on the phones, but also the other people who work for the city. Those people are instrumental. They're the ones who carry the message. They're the ones who interact with you. They're the ones who get people to either support us or not support us. So that's why I believe that every person has a role to play as a leader in this agency. I just want to live up to the high level of expectations that we have right now."

When Belardo joined the MIPD, he wasn’t looking to climb the ladder as he did earlier in his career in New York.

"I can tell you that there was never an expectation that I was going to be in a leadership role here,” he said. "Originally, when I came down here, I applied to be the grants coordinator. I figured that I was probably done being a police officer. But then former Chief Frazzano said, ‘Have you thought about applying for the police officer position?' I did. And I was hired as a police officer. But it was my intention just to work as an officer. I wasn't really looking for a leadership role. But then, you know how when you're working somewhere and you've been there for a little bit, you start to see that you're a leader? Maybe it's my duty to kind of put myself up to be a leader, especially with my experience. So those things just happen to come along. I was happy they did because I like the challenge. And I do have some pretty distinct leadership philosophies. It really just felt like things kind of lined up, even though I wasn't actively looking for it."

Belardo likes what the message of him working his way up through the ranks sends to today’s officers.

“When I talk to the officers on the street,” he said, "I know the job that they're doing. There's a certain value to having done that job with some of these officers. I was a police officer with them and working midnights. There are a couple of sergeants who were my supervisors when I got here. So they know me. I think that most of them are happy that I'm in this role. I'm the first officer to rise up through the ranks in the history of the department. The first one ever to go from officer to sergeant, lieutenant to chief. But I don't want to be the last one to do that. My point is that I believe that the next police chief very likely is already working here."