It’s not often that you meet someone over the age of 30 who was actually born here in Cape Coral. Well, meet Todd Everly, born in Lee Memorial Hospital 53 years ago. In case you are one of the people who does not know Todd, he has lived in Cape Coral his whole life!
Todd is a 2nd generation law enforcement officer. He father, Val Everly, was the first full-time law enforcement in Cape Coral, before the city was incorporated. Val worked for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for 32 years.
Todd started his career in public safety in 1983, following in his father’s footsteps with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office as a Correctional Officer. In 1984, he joined the Cape Coral Police Department. Throughout his service with CCPD, he worked in various organizational components, serving as a trainer, accreditation and professional stand supervisor, major crimes detective, SWAT team member and SWAT commander. After a 25 year career in law enforcement, it was time to retire in 2008 as the Assistant Chief of Police.
Knowing the value of education, Todd earned an Associate of Science degree from Edison Community College (now Florida Southwestern.) He also earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Barry University, and a Master of Science Degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan. Not stopping there, he went on to graduate the Police Executive Research Forum, the Kennedy School of Government, the Senior Management Institute for Police, the Administrative Officers Management Program from North Carolina State University, the Weapons of Mass Destruction Tactical Commanders Course held by the Louisiana State University, the National Center for Biomedical Research & Training Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education, Department of Homeland Security and the Executive Leadership Program held by the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute. WOW!
Retirement did not stick! Since 2012, Todd has been with the Southwest Florida Public Service Academy as the the Director of the five-county wide training academy for Police, Fire & Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and advanced training for current public safety personnel. Todd is currently an Executive Board Member and the South Regional Chairperson for the Florida Criminal Justice Training Center Directors Association. He helps develop strategies for policies for law enforcement agencies state-wide.
The Southwest Florida Public Service Academy is comprised of four basic recruit training courses. The academy’s main campus sits on 20 acres and has 13 buildings in Fort Myers. There are also 7 satelite sites that are under the authority of the academy where training is conducted with are law enforcement agencies and basic recruit classes throughout Southwest Florida. There are currently 15 law enforcement agencies in SWFL that the academy serves. The Academy is the 6th largest out of 40 academies in the state of Florida.
Married to his wife Therese for 28 years, they have a daughter Caira who currently works in the law enforcement profession. The 3rd generation in the family career!
Always involved in the community, Todd is an active member of the Florida Southwestern State College Advisory Board, the Keiser University Advisory Board, the City of Fort Myers Mayor’s Law Enforcement Task Force and the Cape Coral Community Foundation Grant Committee Board. He’s also an active member of St Andrew’s Catholic Church and a member of the Southwest Florida Police Chief’s Association.
Todd and Therese enjoy exploring the variety of restaurants around the Cape. Even though Cape Coral is the 2nd largest city in Florida, they enjoy the fact that they can still go places around the city and run in to someone they know. (Kinda like the old sitcom Cheers!) They also enjoy boating and in-shore fishing, shooting and spending time with their family.
Todd is a competitive handgun shooter and placed 5th in the 2011 (IDPA) World Tactical Handgun Championships and 2nd in the 2011 & 2012 Florida State Championships, both in the Expert Division.
Back in 1993, Todd was the Defensive Coordinator for the Fort Myers Rebels youth football team that won the National Championship.
