FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Fort Lauderdale has named its new Chief of Police. Starting Monday, April 4, Patrick Lynn will take over the department, announced Fort Lauderdale City Manager Chris Lagerbloom.
Lynn becomes the top cop after the firing earlier this month of Larry Scirotto after just over six months of leading the Fort Lauderdale Police Department after a workplace discrimination complaint. Previous chief Rick Maglione was reassigned in July 2020. FLPD had been criticized for its handling of downtown protests. Maglione had been chief since 2016.
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Lagerbloom said it is a return to the department for Lynn, who served as Interim Chief in 2021.
“Chief Lynn was a stabilizing figure last year during a period of transition for this department,” Lagerbloom said. “He has the respect and support of the command staff and the rank and file. I reached out and asked if he’d be willing to come out of retirement, and thankfully, he said yes. “
In 2020, Lynn stepped into a former role as Davie’s police chief after Dale Engle resigned. Engle came under fire after he suggested that a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy’s death from COVID-19 was linked to his sexuality.
Lynn has been in law enforcement for 35 years beginning as began as a patrol officer with the City of Pembroke Pines Police Department in 1982. He then rose through the ranks retiring as the city’s Deputy Chief in 2007.
But retirement didn’t last for long. He joined Davie’s police department as chief soon after where he served until 2017.