Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino To Retire After 25 Years With Town of Ocean City

Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino is retiring after serving the Ocean City community for 24 years with the Ocean City Police Department.  Chief DiPino, who is a fourth generation police officer, began her career in Ocean City in 1988, after three years with the Baltimore County Police Department. 

Chief DiPino worked her way meritoriously through the Ocean City Police Department’s rank structure, being promoted to PFC in 1993, to Sgt. in 1995, to Lt. in 1998 and to Acting Chief in 2002 and Chief of Police in 2003.  She earned a Bachelor of Art’s Degree from Salisbury State University in 1995 graduating with a 3.85 grade point average and in 2011 she graduated from the elite FBI National Academy’s 204^th with a 4.0 grade point average.

She has worked in every division and on every shift in the Police Department. She served as a member of the Department’s Quick Response Team (S.W.A.T.), she is a certified police instructor in the state of Maryland and teaches many topics including firearms, defensive tactics and community policing. She has been awarded sixteen commendations and has been named Officer of the Year three times. In 2007, Chief DiPino was appointed by Governor O’Malley as the Regional Representative to the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commissions. She also serves on the Governor’s Emergency Management Advisory Council (GEMAC) and was appointed to the commission to study the death penalty.  Most recently, she was elected president of the Maryland Chiefs Association and was appointed to the executive committee for the International Chiefs of Police.    

“I have been honored and privileged to work with so many dedicated and professional individuals in the supportive community of Ocean City,” said Chief DiPino.  The people I have worked with over the last 10 years as chief and last 24 with the OCPD have allowed me to grow and gain valuable experience. I am most proud of the officers in this agency and the command staff which I’ve appointed over the years. They are more than capable of leading and managing this department without me.”

Chief DiPino has accepted a job as the Chief of Police of the Sarasota, Florida Police Department.  “I am leaving the department with mixed emotions- excitement about a new opportunity and challenge in beautiful Sarasota, Florida, but heartfelt sadness because I will miss the department, the officers, and the citizens with whom I’ve developed so many lasting friendships. I’d like to thank all the citizens, business’, and law enforcement partners who have supported me and the OCPD over the years. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to serve this community.”