City leaders and police officers gathered in Clearwater Saturday to remember Willis D. Booth who served as the city’s police chief for 11 years.
Booth died on Aug. 3 at age 93. He was known as a “great chief, a wonderful man” and a mentor to many law enforcement agencies and personnel.
Booth was born in Safety Harbor on Nov. 12, 1924 and graduated from Clearwater High School in 1942.
Booth joined the Clearwater Police Department in 1947. He was promoted to sergeant in 1949, then became captain in 1953. In 1957, he was sworn in as chief.
He retired from the agency in 1968 before working as the assistant director of the Florida Bureau of Law Enforcement, which is now known as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. In 1984, he began his role as executive director for the Florida Police Chiefs Association. Booth retired from the organization in 1991.
On Saturday, the Clearwater Police Department created an honor guard to pay respect at his funeral.
“He was a great chief and a wonderful man. A loving husband, father and grandfather. He was a law enforcement legend across the state of Florida. Chief Booth, you will be missed,” the agency wrote on Facebook.
