TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Lee Bercaw is now the acting head of the Tampa Police Department, amid a shakeup in command following the resignation of Chief Mary O’Connor.

Bercaw has been with TPD since 1997, according to a biography on the City of Tampa’s government site.

According to the bio, he’s worked in all three of the city’s districts and is “known for his proactive crime reduction initiatives and his management of large-scale events in security and transportation,” for multiple events, including the Superbowl, the Republican National Convention, and Gasparilla, among others.

The acting chief holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology and master’s degree in criminal justice administration from the University of South Florida, as well as a doctorate in criminal justice from St. Leo University.

Bercaw is also a board member for the Tampa Bay Area Chiefs of Police Education and Research Foundation.

Speaking with WFLA’s Jeff Patterson after being named acting chief, Bercaw said he’s focused on making progress for what comes next.

“The first thing I do is continue moving the department forward momentum this department is going in,” Bercaw said. “We have over 1,400 men and women that work, both sworn and professional staff that are doing a great job out there and sometimes that doesn’t get the attention.”

While the city shifts to choosing O’Connor’s successor, Bercaw said he wants to stay the course but that he was “never going to close any doors,” saying he’d told staff from TPD that “You always have to be ready to take the next position above you because you never know what’s going to happen.”

If he were to be chosen for the new full-time police chief, Bercaw said he’d have to move to Tampa. He doesn’t currently live in the city. Tampa’s charter requires department heads and other managers working for city departments to be full-time residents of the area, though there is a possibility of exception with a city council vote.

The relevant section of the city municipal code reads:

The government of the city shall be conducted by the following named officers and boards: a mayor, a city council, a city clerk, a city attorney, a director of finance [also known as the Chief Financial Officer], an internal auditor, a chief of police, a chief of the fire department, a civil service board, a board of trustees of the city employees retirement fund, a fire fighters and police officers pension board, a variance review board, and such other officers, departments, and/or boards as may be created pursuant to this charter and not inconsistent therewith; and all of said officers and members of boards shall be residents and electors of the city, shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by the charter or ordinance of the city not inconsistent with said charter, and shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed and determined in accordance with this charter. The residency requirements of all department heads may be waived by a vote of no fewer than five members of the city council for a period of up to one year. The one-year residency requirement exception may be voted upon no more than two consecutive times after the original exception.

Tampa Municipal Code, Article VI, Section 6.01, emphasis by reporter

Were Bercaw to enter the running for the next full-time chief, the vote by council, if passed, would allow him a year to move, rather than blocking his potential candidacy. He said having to move wouldn’t be an obstacle if he was considered as an option for the next chief.

“Well, I’m not the Chief, so if I took the Chief I would move and live in the city,” Bercaw said.

O’Connor resigned Monday, as details came to light involving an incident where she pulled rank to avoid a traffic citation in Pinellas County. She was investigated by the Tampa Police Department’s Professional Standards Bureau. The incident that led to her resignation occurred in November, involving a golf cart traffic stop.