09/02/2026
This information was released this afternoon:
The City of Bartow has engaged Glenn Ferrell to conduct the Internal Affairs investigation regarding former Bartow Police Chief Stephen Walker. Ferrell, a member of the Florida Internal Affairs Investigators Association since its founding, has decades of Law Enforcement and Internal Affairs experience, including with the Polk County Sheriff's office. The investigation, which was announced publicly on Aug. 28, is expected to take several weeks.
“Our goal is to be as transparent as possible with this investigation,” said City Manager Mike Herr. “Because the complaint involved the former head of our Police Department, the decision was made that it would best be accomplished by someone outside of that agency.”
“Upon completion, the results will be released and supporting documents made available to the public as the law allows,” Herr added.
Walker was sworn in as Chief of the Bartow Police on Dec. 6, 2024. Walker joined the Bartow Police Department in 2022 as a captain and was promoted to Deputy Chief on Dec. 1, 2023. His tenure did not qualify him for retirement benefits.
The complaint regarding former Chief Walker was first disclosed on Wednesday, Aug. 12. City Manager Herr, who was attending a Florida League of Cities conference in Hollywood, FL, along with Bartow City Commissioners and other City staff, was immediately contacted. Herr individually apprised the Commissioners of the news in person after which he returned from the conference to Bartow to address the concerns.
A preliminary inquiry conducted on Aug. 12 and 13 found the allegations credible and concerning. Walker met with the City Manager and City Attorney Sean Parker on Aug. 14. While not admitting any wrongdoing, Walker chose to resign, effective immediately.
City Manager Herr was contacted by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office within an hour of Walker’s resignation. The Sheriff’s Office indicated its intent to do its own investigation into the question of whether any criminal activity had occurred. While that investigation has been pending, City Manager Herr, assisted by Assistant City Manager Tray Towles and City Attorney Parker, have performed the necessary administrative and legal review of the case, which included meetings with representatives from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Aug. 26.
As a result of that process and due to the nature of the alleged offenses, Herr decided to launch an Internal Affairs investigation (IA Case #26-05) on Aug. 28 and released a statement to this effect. Because of the sensitive nature of the complaint and in compliance with the Florida Statutes regarding pending investigations, the City has exercised an abundance of caution to protect the privacy and identity of affected employees and ensure that any release of information was both factual and appropriate.
Deputy Chief Kyle Dowdy is now the officer in charge of the Bartow Police Department. The City will contract with Strategic Government Resources (SGR) to recruit and hire a new Chief of Police.
