Patrol Support Bureau
The Patrol Support Bureau consists of many different divisions and units that support the efforts of the entire police department.
The Bureau is responsible for the Personnel division which ensures that GPD is hiring and retaining the most qualified officers we can.
The Gainesville Police Department holds the largest percentage of the entire City of Gainesville budget. The Patrol Support Bureauis responsible for the management of our budget.
In addition, areas like Records, Information Technology and Fleet are just some of the other thousands of duties required to support a department of our size.
About A/Captain Micheal West
A/Capt. Micheal West has 31 years of Law Enforcement experience, serving 28 of them at the Gainesville Police Department. His prior experience was at Florida State Prison, Bradford County Sheriff’s Office and the University of Florida Police Department. In his 28 years at GPD he has worked as a Patrolman, served on the community Oriented Police Team, (COPS), CAT Team (Uniformed and Covert Unit), as a Field Training Officer, Traffic Safety Team supervisor, Criminal Investigations Special Operations Unit Supervisor (SOU), and as a Shift Commander in the Patrol Operations Bureau.
A/Capt. West currently serves as the Commander of the Patrol Support Bureau, supervising the departments Specialty Units, Logistics and School Resource Officers. He also serves as the Commander of the departments SWAT Team.
A/Capt. West has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Florida A&M University with a Minor in Military Science. He is a certified Instructor in Firearms and Simunition Scenario/Safety for the State of Florida and holds a Firearms and Active Shooter Threat Instructor Certification from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center of Homeland Security. (FLETC)
Some of A/Capt. West certifications, graduation and awards;
- FBI-Leeda Executive Development Training
- Mass Casualty Response Leadership Forum – FBI National Academy Associates, Inc.
- SWAT Leadership Command
- SWAT Management/Risk Mitigation
- US Army Military Police School Counterdrug Inv. Course
- Counter-Terrorist and response to WMD Incidents
- BTO, Radar and Laser Operator
- Traffic Homicide Investigator
- Spoon Mentorship Award
- Police Star
- Outstanding Unit Citations
- Award of Excellence
- Unit Citations
- Officer of the Month
A/Capt. West has been active in the community serving several years on the Worship Team (Drummer) at the Greenhouse and Family Church. He is also a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. A/Capt. West has a passion for not only keeping our community safe through community engagement but also fostering relationships by being deeply involved and engaged socially with those he serves in the community. A/Capt. West serves his community proudly and feels blessed that he has been afforded the opportunity to represent GPD alongside the fine men and women of the Gainesville Police Department.