2005 - Present

Republican

In November 2004, John Davenport was elected to be Sheriff of the agency where he had started his law enforcement career almost 27 years earlier.

Sheriff Davenport began his law enforcement career in 1978 when he became a corrections officer at the Sheriff's Office. Within a few years he had worked his way up in rank to being the Jail Commander. As he advanced in rank, he also advanced his education. Over the years, Sheriff Davenport earned an Associate in Arts degree in Criminal Justice, a Bachelor's degree in Criminology and a Masters degree in Public Administration. Sheriff Davenport is also a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy.

Along the way, Sheriff Davenport got his law enforcement certification. He was transferred out of the jail and became the commander over the two district offices that covered the Englewood and Murdock areas. Under Sheriff Richard Worch, he was the commander of the Bureau of Law Enforcement before becoming Sheriff Worch's second-in-command of the entire agency.

As if typical when a new sheriff is elected, Sheriff William Clement brought in his own personnel to fill key high-ranking positions in January 2001. Then-Major Davenport was returned to the newly built county jail to again serve as the Jail Commander. While there, he oversaw the process of getting the jail accredited by the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission.

In 2003 after Sheriff Clement was arrested and suspended, J.M. "Buddy" Phillips was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to quickly fill the vacancy. When Clement's second-in-command retired, Sheriff Phillips brought Davenport back to the position of second-in-command. Davenport remained in that position under William F. Cameron, who was the governor's more permanent appointee.

Because Sheriff Cameron was not seeking election as the Charlotte County Sheriff, Davenport was able to remain with the Sheriff's Office while he campaigned. As the tightly contested primary election drew near, so did a category four hurricane named Charley. Sheriff Cameron and then-Major Davenport weathered the storm in an electrical closet of the Sheriff's administration building.

With much of Charlotte County, including the Sheriff's administration building and Davenport's own home, devastated by the August 13 hurricane, campaign signs were used to patch holes and broken windows more than to sway votes. The August 30 primary election was held as planned and Davenport emerged as the victor.

When Sheriff Davenport took office in January 2005, he noted that he had been able to work his way up the ranks within the agency and he wanted other employees to feel like they could do the same thing. So he did not bring in a new staff of people to fill the upper echelon positions. With one exception....

Sheriff Davenport kept William Cameron, appointing him as his Chief Deputy.