Protecting the Constitution and Safeguarding Bay County: A Candid Interview with Sheriff Tommy Ford

BAY COUNTY, FL - Anyone familiar with my occasional efforts as an author, reporter, or journalist can attest to my passionate devotion to our inspired U.S. Constitution. Our Constitution is unique in world history in that it was written in favor of a republic, not a democracy – a rule of law, not emotion, to protect the providentially bestowed inherent rights of warm-blooded human beings. Our Constitution recognizes that each of us is born with those rights, that they don’t originate from government, but from God, admittedly a much higher authority.

Since these rights are not “granted” to us by a government they can only be taken away by violating someone else’s God given, common law rights. Having been bestowed on us by our creator, they are untouchable by earthly human government. Why is this important? That answer is found in the Preamble to the Constitution.

“We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Our Constitution is designed to recognize the gifts God has given us so that we may experience what the Constitution was designed to accomplish.

In January of 2024, I extended an invitation to Sheriff Tommy Ford to appear as a guest speaker at our monthly John Birch Society gathering. This meeting was friendly and casual with 12 attendees and Sheriff Ford as guest speaker. He openly discussed many questions about his work and responsibilities and assured us that he wants to continue in his office next term.

On Wednesday March 6, 2024 I was privileged to have an interview with Bay County Florida Sheriff Tommy Ford.

Interview with Bay County Florida Sheriff Tommy Ford

The first question we discussed was: “What is your 1st priority responsibility to the voters who elected you?” His answer was straightforward. He stated his primary responsibility is “to honor the Oath of Office he took upon assuming the duties of Sheriff, that is to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.”

The second question was recommended by Mrs. Diane Cummings. “She wants to know how you make sure you are abiding by the Constitution, and is that truly possible with our federal and state governments continually passing unconstitutional laws?”

The Sheriff was grateful for the opportunity to discuss this question. He said: “The best way for a Sheriff to protect and defend the Constitution is to base all Sheriff and Deputy decisions on the Constitution.” “Much of our training such as use of force, search and seizure, interview, free speech etc. is based in Constitutional principles.”

He explained that “the Constitution is the basis of Sheriff’s Office department training. The Constitution needs to be the foundation of what all our training is based on. Every act, every stop, every call must be based on Constitutional policy.” All new deputies undergo four months of training. Two weeks of that is classroom training during which Constitutional concerns are covered in detail.

Subsequently, all deputies receive continual monthly training. These lessons, created and published by Police Law Institute Inc., are training for safe, effective, and Constitutional procedures for specific situation encounters. Sheriff Ford provided me with nine complete monthly lesson summaries randomly selected from January 2021, to March 2024. Examples: May of 2023 covers “Authorized Use of Physical Force,” September of 2022 covers “Qualified Immunity,” March of 2021 covers “Arrest Procedure.”

Having looked through these lesson summaries I found Constitutional questions and opinions are part of each one. Though not all are specifically constitutional issues, nevertheless, the Constitution (Federal and State), and circuit, district and supreme court case law are referenced in every lesson which establish policy to be practiced in the field. All is decided according to the Constitution. The Sheriff said, “Our training is based on the Constitution. It’s the Supreme Law of the Land, we cannot do otherwise.”

Question #3 Background: In recent years there have been serious problems in Bay County at the time of Spring Break. Bay County, Florida is a favorite “party-spot” for thousands of college students attending universities close by who want to “live it up” during Spring Break. The warmth of the Gulf, and the soft white sandy beaches draw thousands of students every year, who spend their dollars in Bay County. It’s truly an economic boon to the area, but in the past it wasn’t all good. Drunkenness on the beach became a big problem. Remote booking of entertainment events by out-of-area contractors (some musical groups even included members who were wanted felons) resulted in lack of adequate parking and unsupervised events. These problems increased each year finally overtaxing the manpower of the Sheriff’s department to cope with the rising crime during spring breaks.

My third question to Sheriff Ford was: “What measures do you take to deal with Spring Break?”

“This is not a new problem,” said the Sheriff. “It finally got out of hand to the point of damaged property and injuries, even resulting in shootings and loss of life in some occurrences. We took measures some years back to curtail the lawless aspect of the situation, and they have been very effective. So, we continue with these measures,” he explained.

The measures are as follows: 1st, alcohol is not permitted on the beach during the month of March. 2nd, the event contractors which schedule entertainment shows are now held responsible for damage and lawlessness occurring at events which do not have adequate parking, are poorly supervised, or some other way inadequately prepared for by the contractor. The Sheriff commented, “I believe people who are responsible for the problems should be held accountable.” I wholeheartedly agree.

My last question to Sheriff Ford was: “What would you like to achieve during your next term?” Sheriff Ford: “In 2021 there were twenty deaths from illicit drug overdose in Bay County. We’ve had The Lifeline Drug Treatment Program (LDTP) for some time, and we’re continually working to expand and improve it. It helped reduce the number of overdose deaths to seven in 2023.” One former inmate even expressed thanks for the program and encourages current inmates to take advantage of it if they can. The LDTP counselors have been trained specifically in addiction recovery to bring about the life changing principles an addict needs to achieve permanent recovery. It is not specific to opioids, but to addiction, itself.

“Currently the facility for that program can accommodate 40-50 males, and 20 females. We will expand the facility so more inmates can take advantage of the available counseling and treatment. I have plans to increase the treatment capacity to 120 individuals.”

Sheriff Ford has lobbied for and been allotted a $1.5 million dollar grant, legislatively approved through the Opioid Settlement Funds, to complete improvements to the treatment facility. As a family man and a Christian, he recognizes the waste of intelligence and lives associated with drug addiction. “And now we have this dangerous influx of fentanyl.” He says “The more people we can help turn away from drug dependency, the more lives we can save.”

Sheriff Ford quietly and wisely demonstrates a strong passion for his job, for the welfare of the county, for the safety of its’ citizens, for unity and fairness in his organization, and for our Constitution. His leadership and attention to duty has reduced overall crime in Bay County by 45-50%.

Sheriff Ford’s qualifications for office are, indeed, impressive.

Raised in Port St. Joe, Gulf County, Florida, he graduated from University of West Florida, in 1992, in Accounting and Finance. His law enforcement career also began in 1992 with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), serving as Special Agent investigating violent crime, major drug crimes, public integrity issues, and officer involved shootings. He served eleven years on their Special Operations Team, two years as Team Leader. In 2003 he was promoted to Resident Agent in Charge of the FDLE, supervising investigations in the six county, 14th Judicial Circuit. He was then hired by Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen to serve as Operations Commander and Chief Deputy. In 2014 Sheriff Ford graduated the 258th session of the FBI National Academy, receiving a Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice Education from the University of Virginia. He became Sheriff of Bay County, Florida in January of 2017. In 2018 he was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to serve on the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (CJSTC), and now serves as chairman of that Commission. He is the Co-Chair of the Northwest Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Force and serves on the statewide Domestic Security Oversight Council. Sheriff Ford has served on Governor DeSantis Public Safety Transition Committee and was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Statewide Opioid Task Force. Bay County is blessed to have Tommy Ford as Sheriff.

(Bay County Coastal does not endorse candidates.)