Tommy Ford

Sheriff Tommy Ford has served as the Sheriff of Bay County, Florida since 2016. He began his public service in 1992 with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), where he served as a Special Agent and Resident Agent in Charge for 16 years. During this time, he led investigations into violent crimes, major drug operations, public integrity cases and officer-involved shootings. Ford served for 11 years as a member of the FDLE Special Operations Team, spending two years as team leader. In 2003, he was promoted to Resident Agent in Charge of FDLE’s Panama City Field Office, overseeing investigations across the six-county 14th Judicial Circuit. In 2009, Sheriff Ford joined the Bay County Sheriff’s Office under Sheriff Frank McKeithen, first as Operations Commander and later as Chief Deputy. 

In 2024, Sheriff Ford graduated from the University of Virginia with a Master’s Degree in Public Safety. He completed the FBI National Academy’s 258th session in 2014, earning a graduate certificate in Criminal Justice Education from the University of Virginia. He received an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of West Florida in 1992. 

Sheriff Ford was appointed by Governor Rick Scott in 2018 to the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (POST), currently serving as Chairman since 2020. He serves as the Co-Chair of the Northwest Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Force, and a member of the statewide Domestic Security Oversight Council. He was appointed by Governor Ron Desantis to the Statewide Opioid Task Force, the State Council for Interstate Adult Offender Supervision pursuant to the Interstate Compact and was a member of the Governor’s public safety transition team. Sheriff Ford has served as the Chair of the Florida Sheriff’s Task Force since 2022, coordinating the statewide response of Florida Sheriff’s to natural disasters and mutual aid requests.