After being with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office for nearly 20 years and serving as the Oakland Park BSO Captain for almost three, Tammy McNeal’s accomplishments and exemplary service to the community have earned her a promotion to Major. She will lead the Preparedness and Response Training Division for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
In Major McNeal’s new position, she will be responsible for training all employees to make sure all sworn personnel, corrections officers, and law enforcement officers get the training that the state requires. She will also be involved in any civilian training the agency brings in and in helping facilitate advanced college education opportunities to staff.
Although Major McNeal’s new position takes her out of the Oakland Park division, her influence will continue to permeate the Oakland Park BSO and the community through her officer training, which every officer in the agency will participate in at one point or another. Not only that, but the new Oakland Park BSO Captain, Ana Murillo-Quigley, is also a woman who shares many of the same ideas and goals as Major McNeal.
Major McNeal’s Promotion Comes as New State-of-the-Art Training Facility Is in the Works
Major McNeal says she feels elated about the promotion. “I loved being Captain in Oakland Park, but the promotion and being selected to lead to training vision allows me to have influence over all law enforcement officers in the agency…I’m excited to have the chance to improve law enforcement for years to come through training.”
Tammy McNeal’s promotion couldn’t have come at a better time, as the agency is on the verge of constructing a new and improved facility that is going to be a state-of-the-art regional training center, drawing in people all across the country. The facility will have indoor shooting ranges, a fire rescue command and stimulation lab, a shoot house and simulation room with movable walls and doors, and dedicated classrooms for law enforcement, detention, defensive tactics, and fire training.
The Major explains that the Sheriff has also put a focus on advanced degrees and transforming staff into educated professionals, so they are seeking partnerships with different universities to increase education levels.
McNeal says, “Oakland Park will always be a part of me, and as I continue throughout my career I will make sure the City is in good hands by bringing their staff the best training I can. It’s a very special city, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to lead and have been entrusted with the safety of the citizens.”
Introducing New Oakland Park BSO Captain Ana Murillo-Quigley
New Oakland Park BSO Captain, Ana Murillo-Quigley, was promoted from the City of Deerfield Beach where she was the Executive Officer. She feels confident that her experience coming from a larger city that deals with very similar issues as Oakland Park will allow her to be successful. She aims to apply strategies that helped her mitigate problems in Deerfield Beach right here in Oakland Park.
The new Captain describes herself as someone who has generational leadership skills. “I can relate to the older person, middle age, and young people, and I have learned within programs that I’ve taken how to approach the different generations so I can communicate with my employees and the public effectively.” Through her work, she aims to break down the stigmas that cops are bad or unapproachable, and demonstrate just how community-oriented the BSO truly is.
Highlighting Women’s Representation in Oakland Park and Broward County
Law enforcement is one of many career paths that tends to lack female representation – especially in leadership positions. However, Oakland Park and BSO have a higher percentage of women in the agency than the national average, and this is reflected in McNeal and Murillo-Quigley’s promotions as well as the numerous other women serving in BSO law enforcement and leadership positions.
Major McNeal and Captain Murillo-Quigley agree that women’s representation is important because women bring different perspectives and inherently solve problems in different ways. McNeal notes: “In this day in age, communication is so important. We’re seeing more need for crisis interventions… and some of the de-escalation tactics tend to be more inherent in females. BSO recognizes the value of having women on the force due to our communication and problem-solving skills.”
Captain Murillo-Quigley agrees, saying a woman’s inherent desire to nurture is a type of sixth sense. She explains, “Today we have more mental illness, both in the public and in the workforce, and we as females are able to empathize and nurture when others are facing difficulties.”
Between McNeal’s experience and knowledge, the new training facility, a focus on higher education, and a passionate new BSO Oakland Park Captain, BSO will be more equipped than ever before in its ability to protect and serve the community.
