A celebration for Staly took place at the recently renamed Sheriff Rick Staly Law Enforcement Center in Bunnell.
Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly honored for 50 years in law enforcement
Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly was recognized on Nov. 4, 2025, at the headquarters, which Flagler County Commissioners recently renamed in his honor.
- Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly was recognized at the recently renamed Sheriff Rick Staly Law Enforcement Center.
- Staly said he plans to run for reelection in 2028.
- Staly also talked about being shot while a young deputy in Orange County at the start of his career.
- Staly said he was writing a book about leadership which he expected to complete next year.
The clues were there for even the most junior detective to pick up on that a young Rick Staly was destined for a career in law enforcement.
When Staly was 7 or 8 years old growing up in Seminole County, he drew a police radio on a piece of cardboard and taped it to his bicycle. His mother said he would ride around and stop other kids.
“I don’t remember pulling over neighborhood kids on my bicycle, but if my mother says I did, I’m going to believe it,” Staly said during an event to recognize his achievements.
Those bicycle patrols eventually grew into a law enforcement career spanning 50 years and counting, with Staly saying he plans to run for reelection in 2028.
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, members of law enforcement, political leaders and community members packed a large meeting room at the sheriff’s office’s operations center in Bunnel to celebrate Staly’s half-century in law enforcement.
The Sheriff Rick Staly Law Enforcement Center
Flagler County Commission Chair Andy Dance also read a proclamation renaming the operations center the “Sheriff Rick Staly Law Enforcement Center.” The center is located at 61 Sheriff E.W. Johnston Drive in Bunnell.
Staly thanked Dance and the other Flagler County Commissioners gathered for the ceremony. He summed up the last five decades with an expression he had heard recently.
“There were great days, there were good days and there were bad days. 50 years,” Staly said. “Great days, like being elected sheriff after a spirited campaign in 2016 or being elected unopposed in 2024, or like today being honored by naming of a building after you and you’re not retired and you’re not dead. So thank you, commissioners, for that.”
Staly recalled some bad days, like when he was shot early in his career as a deputy with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
“Well, bad days are when a deputy or K-9 dies on duty while you’re the under sheriff or the sheriff, or being shot on duty. But that one actually turned out to be a great day, because God was looking out for me and I lived,” Staly said. “The other deputy’s life was saved. And I’m standing before you 47 years later and still going strong. That almost didn’t happen. The ER doctor did tell me that had that round not been stopped I would have not survived it. I was 23 years old at the time.”
Staly said he thought he was about to die when he was shot on July 31, 1978, in an unincorporated area west of Orlando.
“I remember when the round in the chest knocked me to the ground,” he said. “I remember struggling to get my gun out because my gun hand, arm, that was shot up. And I remember saying always wondered how I was going to die and now I know. But fortunately God had other plans.”
Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly: Mostly good days
But Staly said the majority of the days have been good.
He thanked the community for its support as well as the support from the Flagler County Commission and the City of Palm Coast, which presented him a key to the city during the event. He thanked his command staff, and his deputies and professional support employees.
He thank the Flagler County Commission and the city of Palm Coast for their funding. He said since he took over, the sheriff’s office has become a better-funded and proactive agency.
Staly also thanked his mentors in law enforcement throughout his long career and praised teamwork.
“It takes mentors and a team to be successful. No one is successful alone,” Staly said.
Sheriff Rick Staly awarded Medal of Heroism
Dance read part of the resolution renaming the building in Staly’s honor, which as outlined in a previous News-Journal story, noted “a 50% reduction in the crime rate of the County since 2017,” and five different national and statewide accreditations.
The resolution also stated that “FCSO’s Domestic Violence Initiative (started by Sheriff Staly) has produced a 15% decrease over six years in total domestic violence offenses from 570 in 2017 to 486 in 2022.”
It also pointed to Staly’s personal accomplishments, such as the Medal of Valor, Purple Heart Medal, and the Florida Governor’s Medal of Heroism “after being shot three times while saving the life of a Deputy Sheriff in Orange County,” as well as the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama in 2015.
During the Nov. 4 event, the Sons of the American Revolution presented Staly with the Medal of Heroism, the group’s “highest award for bravery while facing imminent danger.”
From pumping gas to youth deputy to county sheriff
Staly said he once pumped gas when he was young. He said a deputy who went by that gas station told Staly he should look into being a youth deputy.
“That probably kept me on the right side of the Green Roof Inn bars, OK,” Staly joked, referring to the Flagler County jail. “But that was really the beginning of my career.”
From there Staly would work at different departments, including the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. He would leave law enforcement to start his own security company and he would return to law enforcement and become Flagler County sheriff.
Besides his mentors throughout his career, he thanked his parents.
“They are both in heaven today but they taught me a lot and hopefully I made you proud and you are looking down,” Staly said.
Staly’s wife, Debbie, sat next to him throughout the ceremony. After he got up to speak they exchanged a kiss and he gave her a bouquet of flowers.
Sheriff Staly: Planning 2028 reelection bid
“This is not the end of an era. It’s the next chapter that’s just starting,” Staly said. “So I’m not slowing down and neither is our team. My wife already said I could run for reelection in 2028.”
“So, to the criminals, I say this is not an early retirement party, the Green Roof in remains open for business. So, sorry, dirtbags.”
Staly is also going to become an author. He said he is writing a book about “transformational leadership,” which he plans to finish in late 2026.
Local officials, law enforcement officers praise Staly
His chief of staff, Mark Strobridge, was among the speakers praising Staly’s leadership. He said that when Staly was shot on July 31, 1978, it drove the sheriff to ensure deputies received the best training and were as prepared as possible when they went on the streets.
Assistant State Attorney John Reid, a high-ranking prosecutor at the 7th Circuit State Attorney’s Office, also was there to recognize Staly.
“On behalf of the state attorney’s office we want to thank you for everything you do,” Reid said. “… This is a modernized state-of-the-art agency, you’ve done a fantastic job. I think one of the most important things you’ve done, you can see in this room right now. You’ve built partnerships throughout the whole community. And that doesn’t happen everywhere. And I certainly want to emphasize the partnership with the state attorney’s office.”
Sheriffs from other counties also praised Staly. A video was shown of Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd praising Staly. And Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook attended the ceremony and said that she was in kindergarten when Staly first pinned on a badge. She said Staly had had a huge impact on the Florida Sheriff’s Association and on her personally.
“For me watching you, you are the epitome, the example, the benchmark of what every sheriff in the state should be doing,” Cook said. “And I want to say thank you. As a new sheriff you took me under your wings, you went with some of my crazy ideas.”
Congressman Randy Fine also attended, thanking Staly for helping him learn about Flagler County. And he praised Staly’s 50 years in law enforcement.
Fine said: “Those people who are willing to put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe are some of those that we should appreciate the most.”