TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — New Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell has named three new deputy chiefs to the department.
Revell selected Maurice Holmes, Tonja Bryant-Smith and Jason Laursen as deputy chiefs for the Tallahassee Police Department.
Chief Revell says they're also advertising for the Major position. There's at least three open positions left after his appointment, Deputy Chief Jason Laurson's promotion and Lonnie Scott's resignation.
Jason Laursen is originally from the Tampa Bay area but has called Tallahassee his home since 1993. He is a graduate of Tallahassee Community College and Florida State University and is married with two children.
Laursen has been with the Tallahassee Police Department since 1998. During his tenure in the Department, Laursen has worked in the Patrol Division, Vice and Narcotics, the Career Criminal Unit, United States Marshal Service Task Force, and was a supervisor in Patrol, Special Investigations, and Robbery/Violent Crimes, was a member of, and eventually became a Team Commander of, the Tactical Team.
Upon promotion to Command Staff in 2014, he was a Commander of the Patrol, Criminal Investigations, and High-Risk Offenders Bureaus. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy Class 264.
Tonja Bryant-Smith attended Florida State University and made Tallahassee home. She is married to Sherwin Smith and has one Son, Cameron Smith.
She started her career with the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) and left the agency after serving 11 years.
After leaving TPD, she went to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) where she worked for the past 17 years. During her time at FDLE, she was a Narcotics Agent, an Inspector in the Office of Executive Investigations (Professional Standards Unit), and a Special Agent Supervisor over the Organized Crime Squad, the Public Integrity /Economic Squad, and the Counterterrorism Squad.
She served as a Co-Director for the North Florida Fusion eXchange, conducted joint intelligence operations for the Governor’s Inauguration, supervised agents across the state, assisted in the hiring and recruitment process at FDLE, and have affiliations within the community and state.
She is currently the President of the North Florida Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) and has been in this position for the past four years.
Maurice Holmes was born in Tallahassee, Florida, and is the oldest of five boys. He is married to Sylvia J. Holmes, whom he met when he moved to Thomasville from Atlanta in 2005.
Holmes graduated in 1985 from Rickards High School in Tallahassee and graduated from Thomas University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Maurice also obtained his master’s degree in Public Safety Administration from Columbus State University’s Command College in 2019.
He is a veteran of the United States Army, where he served for three years active and five years reserve duty.
Holmes is a twenty-five-year veteran of law enforcement and is currently a Captain with the Thomasville Police Department. He is the Commander of the Community Relations Division where he oversees Community Outreach, Crime Prevention, and School Resource Officers
He is also a Deacon of Disciples of Jesus Ministries in Thomasville, Georgia, where he has served for over fourteen years.
Chief Revell says they're also looking to fill a position for a Police major. To view open positions click here.
