Lakeland Police Sergeant Retires After Nearly 40 Years Of Service

LAKELAND, FL — A longtime Lakeland police sergeant has finally decided to take it easy and live the life of a retiree.

The Lakeland Police Department celebrated Sgt. Jack Callahan's retirement Thursday with friends, family and co-workers.

Callahan has spent nearly 40 years working in law enforcement — a decade of those with the Lakeland Police Department.

According to the police department, Callahan was born and raised in Syracuse, New York. His entire family relocated to Lakeland in 1970. He graduated from Kathleen Sr. High School in 1972 and began working for an ambulance company within the city.

In 1976, Callahan attended the Auxiliary Police Standards class at Polk State College.

He then received his certification through the Florida Police Standards class in 1977.

Callahan began his full-time law enforcement career with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

During his tenure, he worked in the Patrol Division, the Selective Enforcement Unit, Narcotics (street level, mid-level, and Organized Crime), SWAT, and Criminal Investigations.

Following his promotion to sergeant in 1994, Callahan worked as a patrol sergeant until retiring in 2004.

While assigned to PCSO, he worked as a paramedic for Polk County EMS, maintaining his paramedic license to date. He also completed his associate of arts degree with Saint Leo University prior to his retirement with PCSO.

Keeping his police standards current, Callahan began employment with the Lakeland Police Department in 2012, where he served in the Uniform Patrol Division.