Florida State University announced Thursday that Jason Trumbower, a 26-year veteran of the FSU Police Department, is its new chief of police following a national search. He starts in the new role immediately.
Trumbower has served as FSU’s Interim Chief of Police since January and as Interim Deputy Chief of Police during the previous 11 months.
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Kyle Clark said Trumbower’s operational knowledge and team-oriented approach are assets to the department.
“The safety of our students and the entire campus community is a top priority,” Clark said. “I am pleased that Chief Trumbower is stepping up to fill this role. His dedication to public safety, decades of experience and knowledge of the FSU and Tallahassee communities make him an excellent choice to lead the FSU Police Department.”
Trumbower graduated from FSU in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and played football for Coach Bobby Bowden in 1994-1995.
In his role, Trumbower will oversee the FSU Police Department, a fully accredited law enforcement agency employing about 91 sworn officers in Tallahassee and Panama City. He is responsible for all law enforcement operations for FSU.
“As an FSU alumnus and former student-athlete for FSU, Chief Trumbower has a special commitment to the FSU community,” said Barbara O’Connor, assistant vice president for Public Safety. “He has done a tremendous job in his interim role, and I look forward to working with him in advancing the services FSU Police deliver to our community.”
Trumbower will be responsible for managing the daily operations within the FSU Police Department, including Patrol, School Resource Officers, Security Staff, Dispatch, Accreditation, Training. Evidence, and Investigations. His duties will include establishing and managing relationships with local law enforcement agencies, university departments, news media representatives, social service agencies, and public special interest groups to provide information on crime prevention and criminal activity.
“I am incredibly honored to serve in this role and look forward to moving FSUPD in the right direction,” Trumbower said. “We have an amazing team here at FSU, and there are a lot of wonderful people who have a hand in me working my way up to this position. Having grown up in Tallahassee and being a graduate of FSU, Florida State University means the world to me. I’m truly grateful to my family, my FSUPD team and professional network for all the support over the years.”
As Interim Chief and Interim Deputy Chief, Trumbower led efforts for a net gain in hires, decreasing vacancy rates for the first time since 2021; collaborated with FSU Athletics, Student Affairs, and the ticket office to reconfigure and adjust operations for a safer student section at FSU football games; increased the department’s Field Training Team by 30% which allowed for more candidates to be hired at once; and led efforts to implement the “Heads Up” Pedestrian Safety Campaign, working with University Communications, Student Affairs and the City of Tallahassee to raise awareness.
After joining FSUPD in 1999, Trumbower worked his way up the ranks from patrol officer to Captain of the Operations Division, a post he held for 13 years. In that role, he provided direction, vision and leadership for all aspects of the division, including Main Campus Patrol, the Panama City Branch Campus, Special Operations and Communications. This included overseeing all security and law enforcement for special activities, sporting events, concerts, political functions and special operation details within the university.
Trumbower’s appointment concludes a national search conducted by the LINDAUER search firm and chaired by Renisha Gibbs, associate vice president for Human Resources and Finance & Administration chief of staff.