Dave Bonsall began his law enforcement career in 1972 with the Howard County Police Department in Maryland. He served over five years as a police officer, field training officer, and detective. In June of 1977 he began a 27 1/2 year career with the Lee County Sheriff's Office. An experienced law enforcement professional, Dave served in various assignments including patrol deputy, property crimes detective, major crimes detective, CID Commander, Narcotics Unit Commander, Law Enforcement/ Patrol Bureau Commander, and finally retired as Chief of Operations. During this time he was an instructor at the SW Florida Criminal Justice Academy and adjunct professor of criminal justice at the Fort Myers campus of the University of South Florida.

In addition to extensive specialized law enforcement training, Colonel Bonsall has a bachelors degree in Psychology and a masters degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the University of South Florida. He is a 2002 graduate of the FBI National Academy and in 2005 he was employed as a professor of criminal justice at Edison College. He is known to many members of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office as a colleague in the southwest Florida criminal justice community for the past 30 years and he volunteered with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Cold Case Unit for over a year helping to bring cold homicide cases to close.

Colonel Bonsall and his wife, Joann, have been married over 33 years. Their daughter, Jamie, is a high school teacher and their son, Matt, a K-9 deputy with Lee County Sheriff's Office.