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Doug Goerke
Doug Goerke is in St. Cloud as a servant leader, and he’s here to help.
That’s the message Goerke (GER-key) gives while he takes over as the new St. Cloud Police Chief.
Goerke, who comes with 21 years of experience at the Orlando Police Department that followed years of paramedic and volunteer fire service in his native Long Island, N.Y., succeeds Pete Gauntlett, who announced his retirement last year.
Goerke assumed the role Jan. 1.
It is appropo that Goerke follow Gauntlett as St. Cloud’s top cop. As part of his two decades with OPD, Goerke worked in Gauntlett’s command as a patrol officer in 2001, and they crossed paths in SWAT team duties and other various commands.
“Pete was an icon at OPD, he mentored me,” Goerke said. “He’s been such a visionary in St. Cloud and leaves big shoes to fill. Pete’s a well-known and highly-regarded subjectmatter expert in police circles, so I plan and hope to keep him around for his sound advice and to help me see the progress of this agency.”
With a wealth of experience across a wide range of law enforcement and first-responder operations, Goerke is a true “Swiss Army knife.” He’s worked with OPD’s Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) unit, as a tactical paramedic an intelligence commander, narcotics supervisor and in the SWAT and Tactical Operations Unit.
For the last year, he directed OPD’s Airport Operations unit, where he saved the life of a person hit by a car in the departing flights lane, thanks to having a “combat medic kit” on hand in his trunk.
“It’s a massive operation, it’s like it’s own city with a $20 million budget,” he said. “And it was a trying year. Flight operations ramped down quickly in 2020, then ramped up just as quickly in 2021, which brought lots of its own challenges.”
While at OPD he was part of two very focused operations: the Pulse night club shooting response and the manhunt search for Markeith Loyd, who was arrested for and later found guilty of the shooting death of fellow OPD Lt. Debra Clayton.
He said that vast experience lends to a level stability which he brings to St. Cloud.
“The city is seeing exploding growth, which can cause its own issues,” he said. “My experience prepares me for those critical incident responses. Everything I’ve learned came from the people before me. To bring that forward to Pete’s agency and continue his legacy is a true honor.”
Impacts he said he’d like to make include reviving the Citizen’s Police Academy, increasing transparency and continue building training programs, all in the name of community engagement.
And, while he’s been hired as the police chief, Goerke said he’s also “just another officer.”
“I aim to build to this department’s unique strengths,” he said. “My goal is to meet with every employee, in order to see where we want this organization to go.”
