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Officer Makes Career Move

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By JOYCE McKENZIE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 20, 2007

Updated: 10/18/2007 10:24 pm

TEMPLE TERRACE - Police Lt. Chris Jeffords' career path is about to take a 360-degree whirl.

The 21-year veteran of the Temple Terrace Police Department has traded in his badge to begin a new venture as a financial adviser for the Temple Terrace-based office of Edward Jones Investments.

Jeffords' retirement was effective Friday.

'I've come full circle,' said the 44-year-old University of South Florida graduate who enrolled as a business finance major before changing his mind and turning his sights toward criminal justice.

While a student at USF, he worked part time at a gas station on Busch Boulevard, where he would often encounter city police officers who ultimately persuaded him to pursue a career with the Temple Terrace department.

'They told me what great jobs they had and what a great place it was to work. I got hooked because I always liked watching 'The Andy Griffith Show' on TV when I was a kid,' said Jeffords, who pointed to his office wall poster of Don Knotts, who played the role of bungling deputy Barney Fife in the 1960s television series.

Prior to graduating from USF, he interned at the Temple Terrace Police Department and was hired as a full-time officer Oct. 19, 1986. Jeffords' first assignment was as a patrol officer working the midnight shift.

'Temple Terrace in the late '80s was much quieter. The surrounding areas weren't as built-up,' Jeffords said.

He readily admitted a sense of personal satisfaction in issuing speeding citations.

'It's kind of funny because, I, too, had somewhat of a lead foot, but the residents of Temple Terrace have always demanded speed control,' said Jeffords, who's also made the city his home since 1978.

He later was transferred to the drug unit, where he worked for about a year and a half before being reassigned to patrol duty.

'I remember I had a young Explorer ride with me when we had a burglary call at the Riverchase development,' Jeffords said. 'The young kid was the one who saw a guy covered in blood running from the scene and we were able to capture him. It turned out he'd murdered one of my neighbors, and so we basically solved the murder case on the spot.'

In his sixth year with the department, he was made detective, a position he often referred to as his 'dream job.'

'I remember saying, 'I can't believe you're paying me to do this job,' ' Jeffords said. 'I was having that much fun.'

His next assignment, as a crime prevention officer, was even more enjoyable, he said.

'I got to meet a lot of people and really got the whole police force involved in crime watch groups,' said Jeffords, who spent five years in the position before being promoted by Police Chief Tony Velong to sergeant in 2000 and reassigned to the detective unit.

In 2002, he earned the rank of lieutenant and was charged for two years with supervising the department's civilian employees. Then, in 2004, Velong named him commander of the detective unit.

'I've been lucky enough to do almost every job. I've worked drug cases, and I've helped break up auto theft and burglary rings,' Jeffords said. 'It's been very challenging and at times very stressful. I leave knowing I've accomplished what I set out to do and I've made a difference.'
Jeffords is a member and past president of the Temple Terrace Kiwanis Club, a member of the board of directors and a coach for Temple Terrace Little League, and is on an advisory committee for Temple Terrace Elementary School. He also serves on the fundraising committee for Corpus Christi Catholic School and as treasurer of Fraternal Order of Police Unit No. 101, a position he relinquished upon leaving the police department.

'He'll surely be missed by me,' Velong said. 'He's truly dedicated to this community and is part of this community.'

Jeffords' wife, Andrea, and mother of his sons, Christopher, 6, and Carson, 4, said she senses a 'nervous excitement' in her husband's demeanor as he moves closer to his Nov. 12 starting date with Edward Jones.

'He's the kind of person who really likes a challenge, and I believe he's ready to take on the new challenge,' she said.
Edward Jones Investments partner Perry Jacobsen, who opened the company's office in Temple Terrace in 1997, is also getting 'excited' to have Jeffords come onboard.

'I think he's going to be a great addition to Edward Jones,' Jacobsen said. 'It's a great company, and the good thing about this job is that nobody is going to shoot him.'

Reporter Joyce McKenzie can be reached at (813) 865-4849 or jmckenzie@tampatrib.com.

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