Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino (Photo: WBOC)
OCEAN CITY, Md.- After 24 years with the Ocean City Police Department, Chief Bernadette DiPino will be retiring and moving on to another police chief job in Florida.
It was announced Tuesday afternoon that DiPino has accepted the position of police chief of Sarasota, a city of nearly 52,000 people located on Florida's southwestern coast.
DiPino, who began her career with Ocean City police in 1988, has served as the Maryland resort town's police chief since 2003.
Last month, WBOC learned that DiPino had been chosen as one of the five finalists for the Sarasota position. Even if DiPino had not been offered or accepted the Florida job, she would have been required to retire from the OCPD in October 2013, after 25 years of service.
"I have been honored and privileged to work with so many dedicated and professional individuals in the supportive community of Ocean City," DiPino said in a statement. "The people I have worked with over the last 10 years as chief and last 24 with the OCPD have allowed me to grow and gain valuable experience. I am most proud of the officers in this agency and the command staff which I've appointed over the years. They are more than capable of leading and managing this department without me."
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan said, "It has been a pleasure to work with Chief DiPino throughout the past 10 years. We wish her nothing but the best in her new endeavor."
According to Ocean City spokeswoman Jessica Waters, DiPino will likely finish out the year in Ocean City and begin her new position in Sarasota in January.
Ocean City officials have not yet appointed anyone to the position of acting chief once DiPino leaves the department, Waters said.
