'A consummate professional': Secret Service director once worked for West Palm Beach police

WEST PALM BEACH — Before his days protecting U.S. presidents and other world leaders, Ronald Rowe began his career in law enforcement patrolling the streets of West Palm Beach.

Rowe, who was appointed acting director of the U.S. Secret Service last week, worked as a city patrol officer about 30 years ago. He joined the department in 1995 and left in 1999 for the Secret Service.

On Tuesday, Rowe testified before U.S. Senate committees about his agency's performance on July 13, the day former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service has come under heavy criticism for allowing a 20-year-old gunman to position himself on a roof and shoot at Trump with an AR-15-style rifle.

“What I saw made me ashamed,” Mr. Rowe told a joint hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary committees, according to The New York Times. At different times, he found himself in pointed exchanges with senators including Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Missouri.

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West Palm Beach Assistant Police Chief Tony Spatara attended the police academy with Rowe. He said Tuesday that Rowe's goal was to one day join the Secret Service and work on the presidential protection detail.

During his time in West Palm Beach, Rowe was a road patrol officer and spent a year with the department's High-Profile Oriented Police Enforcement team, known as its HOPE unit.

"Ron was a person that you could count on as a partner, very safe," Spatara said. "He dealt with people diligently, safely. He was a consummate professional."

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Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw was West Palm Beach's police chief during Rowe's time with the department. Bradshaw said Rowe rose to the rank of sergeant and was placed in charge of the department's street teams.

"He's excellent," Bradshaw said. "I remember him coming into the office and saying 'Hey, I got an offer from the Secret Service. What do you think I should do?' I said 'Take it.' … He's just one of those once-in-a-lifetime guys. "

Bradshaw said he's had an opportunity to exchange text messages with Rowe and congratulate him on the new position.

"I was happy for him. I think he does a good job," Bradshaw said. "We work very closely with the Secret Service here. We protected the president for four years. We've got a great relationship. We've never had an issue any way shape or form."

During a 25-year career with the Secret Service, Rowe has served in many roles, including recently as deputy director. He was appointed as acting director on July 23, replacing former director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned in the wake of the July 13 assassination attempt.

Spatara said he was proud but not surprised to see Rowe placed in charge of the Secret Service.

"I think they made the right choice," he said. "I think they're going in the right direction. Even without what went on on July 13, it's going to be challenging. Any election season is full of multiple appearances or multiple events that they're charged with providing for multiple protectees. He's certainly up for the challenge."

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today. 

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Acting Secret Service chief's first law enforcement job was in West Palm Beach