Chief John R Newman manages the Security and Emergency Management Division for the Hillsborough County Public School System (HCPS). 

HCPS selected Chief Newman as the District’s Safe School Specialist to report to the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools. Additionally, Chief Newman was appointed by the Governor’s Office to serve on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission.

Before his appointment to HCPS in 2014, he was a 29-year veteran of the Tampa Police Department, retiring as the Assistant Chief. Chief John Newman holds both a BA and an MA from the University of South Florida. He is also a graduate of the prestigious Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville. 

In his current position, Chief John Newman is charged with deploying and managing the security assets on nearly 300 sites operated by HCPS. The HCPS is the 7th largest school district in the nation and has over 25,000 employees that service nearly 228,000 students. He has 300 men and women assigned to his charge as armed security officers and also works with the over 100 law enforcement personnel assigned to our middle and high school campuses.