The Fort Lauderdale Police Chief is William “Bill” Schultz, a more than two-decade veteran of the department who was promoted to the top job after the city cycled through an outside hire, a firing, and an interim period. He runs an agency of hundreds of sworn officers with a budget approaching $190 million and reports to the City Manager rather than directly to elected officials.
Who Bill Schultz Is
Schultz joined the Fort Lauderdale Police Department in 2001 after relocating from Michigan. He was promoted six times over the next two decades, moving from officer through lieutenant, captain, and major before reaching the executive ranks.1Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Message from the Chief Along the way he held leadership roles in the Criminal Investigations Division and the Support Services Bureau, giving him experience on both the investigative and administrative sides of the agency. Immediately before his appointment as chief, he served as assistant chief, overseeing day-to-day bureau operations.
When he took the position, Schultz identified crime reduction as his leading priority. His years inside the department gave him a working knowledge of Fort Lauderdale’s three police districts that an outside candidate would not have brought.
The Turnover That Came Before Him
Schultz’s promotion followed a rough patch at the top of the department. In 2021, the city hired Larry Scirotto as chief from outside the agency. Scirotto was fired roughly seven months later amid internal disputes over hiring and promotion practices, and he later sued the city for wrongful termination. The department ran under interim leadership until Schultz was elevated to the permanent role, a deliberate return to picking a chief from within the ranks.
How the Chief Is Appointed
Fort Lauderdale’s City Charter puts the power to appoint the Chief of Police in the hands of the City Manager. When a vacancy opens, the city may run a national search or evaluate internal candidates, depending on the circumstances. The City Commission typically reviews the selection for transparency, but the appointment itself rests with the City Manager. The structure keeps the chief accountable to a professional administrator rather than directly to elected officials, which is meant to insulate day-to-day policing from political pressure.
The same authority covers removal. The chief serves at the pleasure of the City Manager, who can discipline or terminate without a commission vote. That is how Scirotto’s tenure ended.
What the Chief Oversees
The chief runs an agency built around three geographic police districts, each commanded by a district captain. Fort Lauderdale is a coastal city with a dense urban core, large residential neighborhoods, and a heavy tourist footprint around the beach and cruise port, and each district faces different pressures. The department also maintains separate divisions for criminal investigations and support services, along with specialized units including SWAT and the Marine Unit.
The Operations Bureau alone employs 427 people, including an assistant chief, five captains, nine shift lieutenants, 39 sergeants, 298 sworn officers, and 74 civilian staff.2Fort Lauderdale Police Department. Operations Bureau That bureau handles the 24-hour delivery of patrol services across the three districts.
On the financial side, the department’s fiscal year 2026 amended budget stands at roughly $190.4 million, one of the largest line items in the city’s spending plan.3City of Fort Lauderdale. FY 2026 Current Year That covers personnel for sworn and civilian staff, equipment, the vehicle fleet, technology systems, and specialized units. The chief decides how those dollars move across divisions, where to deploy overtime, which units to staff up, and how aggressively to chase federal grant money. The adopted budget sets the outer boundaries; the chief determines the day-to-day allocations inside them.
The role also carries federal compliance obligations. The department must submit crime data through the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System, which replaced the older summary system in 2021 and captures detailed information across 52 offense categories.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. National Incident-Based Reporting System Any chief of a major department also operates with the possibility of a U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation in the background, which shapes policies on use of force, body cameras, and complaint tracking.5United States Department of Justice. FAQ about Pattern or Practice Investigations
Qualifications for the Job
Florida law sets the floor for anyone serving as a law enforcement officer in the state. Under Section 943.13 of the Florida Statutes, officers must be at least 19 years old, hold U.S. citizenship, pass a physical examination, clear a background investigation, complete a state-approved basic recruit training program, and pass the officer certification examination.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 943.13 – Officers Minimum Qualifications for Employment or Appointment The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, housed inside the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, administers those certification standards statewide.7Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Overview of the Professionalism Division
Those are the minimums for any officer. For a chief’s position in a city the size of Fort Lauderdale, the practical bar runs much higher. Candidates are generally expected to hold at least a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice or public administration, with a master’s preferred, and to bring a decade or more of command experience. Completion of advanced executive programs like the FBI National Academy, which covers contemporary policing issues and leadership development, is a common credential at this level.8FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. FBI Executive Leadership Programs