David Allen joined the Town of Surfside as interim Police Chief in October 2006. He was appointed the permanent Police Chief on March 1, 2007. Chief Allen has over 30 years of experience in law enforcement. He retired as a Major from the Miami Beach Police Department. He has supervised units in Patrol, Traffic, SWAT, Internal Affairs, Narcotics, Organized Crime, Field Training Program, Specialized Units, and Criminal Investigations.
Dave has a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Police Executive Research Forum, the FBI National Academy Associates, Florida Police Chiefs Association, and the Miami-Dade County Chiefs of Police Association. He is the chairman of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Miami Region Violent Crimes and Drug Control Council and is on the Steering Committee of the South Florida Money Laundering Strike Force. He is also a member of the North Shore Kiwanis Club and the Surfside-Bal Harbour- Bay Harbor Police Athletic/Activities League.
Dave’s vision is to build the Surfside Police Department into a leading law enforcement agency through accountability, quality hiring and training practices, and provide the highest level of professional and courteous service to the community.
John Di Censo became a member of the Surfside Police Department in March 2007. Prior to joining Surfside, Assistant Chief Di Censo worked for the Miami Beach Police Department and retired after 29 years of distinguished service at the rank of Division Chief. He has spent the majority of his career in uniform patrol where he served on the SWAT team, the K-9 Unit, and the Field Training Officer Program. Assistant Chief Di Censo also had assignments in the Support Services Division, the Criminal Investigations Division, and the Internal Affairs Unit. He earned a Bachelors Degree from Barry University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute Command Officers Development Course.
Lt. Rolando I. Baldomero joined the Surfside Police Department in September 2005. Lt. Baldomero worked for the North Miami Beach Police Department for 22 years. He worked as a Patrol Officer, G.I.U Detective; Crime Scene; Intelligence Unit. Promoted to Sergeant in 1978, worked in Patrol, Tactical and V.I.N Units, Promoted to Lieutenant in 1981, he commanded the Crime Suppression Unit; Internal Affairs; Detective Bureau; Special Operations, comprised of the Marine Patrol; Traffic; Tactical ; Hostage Negotiation and Community Policing Units, retiring with the rank of Captain in 1991. A Certified Protection Professional from ASIS and a Board Certified Polygraph Examiner, Lt. Rolando I. Baldomero is fluent in both, Spanish and Italian languages.
Lt. Jose Pacheco joined the Surfside Police Department in July 2001. Lieutenant Pacheco worked as a patrol officer until 2003. In 2003 he became a patrol supervisor and a Field Training Officer until 2005, when he was promoted to patrol Sergeant. When promoted to patrol Sergeant he was also given the responsibility to supervise the Field Training Program as a Field Training Sergeant.
In May 2007, He was promoted to Lieutenant and Field Training Lieutenant overseeing all patrol training for new officers entering the department. Lt. Pacheco holds an Associate in Criminal Justice and has received many hours of training, awards, commendations, and Officer of the Year Award in 2002.
Susie Sperback is the Communications Supervisor and has the responsibility of developing the Department’s Communications Unit. In addition to her role as the overall supervisor for three shifts, Susie has taken on the responsibility of creating an ongoing training program for communications personnel that is designed to enhance the department’s customer service levels. She has already begun this process by introducing a standard, professional telephone greeting to be used by all dispatchers. Following her graduation from North Miami Senior High and her further academic studies at Florida International University, Susie joined the Surfside PD in the spring of 1997. She has the experience and knowledge to implement ongoing positive improvements to the department’s interaction with the community, other rescue agencies and the general public.
Lt. Orlando Laso joined the Surfside Police Department on April 25, 2002 as a public service aide and dispatcher. He graduated from the Police Academy as the class valedictorian in December 2003. Lt. Laso also attended Florida International University. He has been a field training officer and motor officer and received training in Crisis Intervention, Radar and Laser Speed Enforcement, Breath Test Operator, DUI Detection, Crime Scene, ATV and several other areas. He has also been awarded Officer of the Month on two occasions. Orlando was promoted to Sergeant on May 16, 2007 and Lieutenant on April 28, 2008. Lt. Laso is currently the commander of the First Platoon.
