After 27 years of highly dedicated selfless service to the citizens of Citrus County, Captain David Vincent is retiring from the Sheriff’s Office.
Starting his career in 1993, Captain Vincent starting working as a Communications Officer.
Shortly after starting with the agency, Captain Vincent transferred to the Patrol Division and worked as a Patrol Deputy until 1996.
Because of his outstanding work ethic, Captain Vincent was promoted to Special Investigations Unit (SVU) Detective in 1996 and worked several high-profile and lengthy drug investigations. In 1998, Captain Vincent was awarded Narcotic Officer of the Year for Florida’s Region 3 by the Florida Narcotic Officers’ Association. Over the course of his assignment in SVU, Captain Vincent became known for his technical skills and time spent working on wiretapping cases.
After several years as a detective, Captain Vincent transferred into the School Resource Deputy program in 2002, where he later achieved the rank of Sergeant in 2011. During his tenure in the program, Vincent helped develop the High School Choices program curriculum and helped develop programs to identify at-risk children in school. A tireless advocate for CCSO’s School Resource Deputy program, Vincent became a staple in the Citrus County School system, where he touched many of Citrus County’s youths’ lives.
In 2012 Vincent was selected to oversee the East Patrol Division’s Community Crimes Unit as a Sergeant. In this assignment, he was instrumental in developing community outreach programs like the Beverly Hills Clean Up. He also oversaw the detectives assigned to the East District property crimes cases. Due to his exceptional leadership and agency-wide efforts, Vincent’s supervision saw double-digit reductions in reported burglaries each year.
Being known for his dedicated leadership skills, Captain Vincent was promoted to Lieutenant of the Training Division in 2014. As a cutting edge law enforcement leader, Vincent saw the need for law enforcement to adapt and sought the implementation of tourniquets and trauma kits for each deputy. He is always looking to the future and strategically analyzing the national law enforcement landscape.
Vincent helmed the Citrus County Public Safety Training Center at the Withlacoochee Technical College, where hundreds of recruits were trained to be today’s law enforcement. In 2016, Vincent achieved the rank of Captain over the Training Division.
As Captain, Vincent drilled home the need for advanced active shooter training and conducted real-life training scenarios at Lecanto High School, testing the skills of responding deputies.
Recognizing Vincent’s dedication and drive for success, Sheriff Prendergast transferred Captain Vincent to the East Patrol Division Commander position in early 2017. During this assignment, Vincent oversaw the entire Patrol Division for the eastern portion of Citrus County, along with directly supervising the CCSO Domestic Violence Unit and Victim Advocates.
In 2019, Sheriff Prendergast entrusted the Division of Special Operations to Captain Vincent, where he played an integral role in the agency’s day-to-day operations. Vincent became responsible for the agency’s largest division. He successfully supervised the agency’s Specialty Teams, the Aviation and Marine Unit, the Animal Control Unit, the Fleet Management, the Community Relations Unit, and the Volunteer program.
Throughout Vincent’s career, he also served on the agency’s Hazardous Devices Team (Bomb Team) since 1997. In 2004, Vincent took over as the team leader for this specialty team. Under his leadership, the Bomb team successfully integrated with other specialty teams, and now highly skilled bomb technicians serve on both the CCSO SWAT and Dive teams. Vincent was also instrumental in the 2012 Dive team’s response to locating a firearm used in a murder that was later thrown into the water from the Howard Frankland Bridge in Tampa.
“Captain David Vincent served as a mentor, coach, counselor, trainer, and leader to many within the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office,” said Sheriff Mike Prendergast. “His hard work and fearless dedication to our agency’s mission will be greatly missed. We are truly excited for Captain Vincent’s future endeavors and wish him and his family tremendous success.”
Captain Vincent is a graduate of the University of Louisville’s Southern Police Institute’s Administrative Officers Course and the FBI National Academy. He is a well-respected leader in the public safety community and a tremendous asset to the citizens of Citrus County. Please join us in sending Captain Vincent out with a big bang and wishing him a happy and healthy retirement.