SHERIFF EMERY GAINEY

Governor Rick Scott appointed Emery Gainey as Sheriff of Marion County on May 20, 2016 – the same day that former Sheriff Blair was arrested and removed from office by Governor Scott.

Sheriff Gainey was born, and grew up in Gainesville, Florida. He started his Law Enforcement career in 1982 with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. He worked his way up the ranks eventually becoming Chief Deputy under Sheriff Steve Oelrich. Gainey is a graduate of the University of Florida, with a BA in 

criminal justice. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy, 188th session (January – March 1997).  Coincidentally, Sheriff Gainey attended the basic law enforcement academy and the FBI National Academy with City of Ocala Police Chief Greg Graham.

After leaving the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office he went to work with the Attorney General’s Office and was one of the top staff members of Attorney General Pam Bondi at the time of his appointment as Sheriff.

Upon arrival in Ocala, Sheriff Gainey immediately addressed employees to put apprehensions to rest and to bolster their confidence in the Sheriff’s Office. He also had to immediately swear in all the sworn Deputies, and Corrections Officers. His efforts were well received by the agency and the rank and file continued to operate.  

Sheriff Gainey also immediately purged the Sheriff’s Office of the three top administrators which were brought in by Sheriff Blair. 

Major Terry Bovaird and Bureau Chief and General Counsel Gregg Jerald were promoted to Chiefs of Staff by Gainey. 

One of Sheriff Gainey’s first actions as Sheriff was to emphasize the importance of commanders being given the latitude to command. He recognized that for the agency to grow; supervisors were going to have to learn to make decisions which were appropriate for their rank. This concept had been seriously eroded during the previous administrations. Bureau Chiefs were told to run their Bureaus, Captains and Lieutenants were given command of their shifts, divisions, and districts, and Sergeants were freed up to supervise. 

The kiosk program was halted, and the kiosks were stored after the ongoing investigation into Sheriff Blair’s conduct revealed financial improprieties with the program. Several of the kiosks were also deemed unsafe and a possible fire hazard due to substandard manufacturing of the internal electronics. The investigation by the State Attorney, and a subsequent internal investigation, revealed that Chief Deputy Fred Latorre and Chris Blair, while in office, had formed an (LLC) corporation to receive funds from the sale of the kiosks to other counties.  

Sheriff Gainey did not just “hold” the office waiting on the outcome of the election, he was determined to get the agency through the recent troubles and bring back an atmosphere of normalcy. He recognized some very serious needs throughout the agency and went about reorganizing. He made promotions where needed and re-organized the agency into a more efficient structure.  

An Internal Affairs unit was established, which brought a consistency to reviewing use of force reports, addressing employee issues, and would free up the line supervisors to supervise. Sheriff Gainey also made promotions which addressed supervisory deficiencies in several areas which had been neglected by previous administrations. 

Sheriff Gainey started addressing the long-neglected IT issues. He found money, reorganized, and re-directed the IT department. He also forged a much-needed relationship with the County Commission. For the first time in several years the commission became more approachable and seemed to have a desire to look at issues affecting the agency. 

Sheriff Gainey was also active in the community. He appeared at community events, organization and club meetings, festivals, churches, and generally tried to attend everything he was invited to during his short tenure. He also tried to meet as many people in Marion County as he possibly could. If it was within his schedule, he would not refuse anyone including people who just dropped by to meet the new Sheriff. 

On August 30, 2016, the primary election was held. In the Republican race Billy Woods (Ocala Police Lt.) defeated Kerry Crawford (retired MCSO Major), and on the Democratic side, the underdog Dennis McFatten (retired MCSO Captain) defeated former Sheriff Ed Dean. 

On November 8, 2016, Marion County Voters elected Billy Woods as the new Sheriff of Marion County by a wide margin.  In a move that had not been done since Ken Ergle was elected Sheriff in 1992, Sheriff Gainey brought Sheriff-Elect Woods on as an employee of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office upon his election and prior to his formally taking office.  This enabled Sheriff-Elect Woods to begin getting comfortable with the agency and ensured a smooth transition from Sheriff Gainey to Sheriff Woods.