He lived the life of restauranteur Gordon Ramsey but never found it fulfilling. Then he tried the life of Joe Friday. And it was a perfect fit.
Deputy Chief Fred Hofer is this week’s feature in our Blue Honor Series.
Hofer is a legacy. His father retired after many years with the New York Police Department (NYPD). The family moved to Palm Beach County when Deputy Chief Hofer was 13-years-old. His father went on to retire again from the Sea Ranch Lakes Police
Department following 23 years of service.
Captain Hofer started out in the restaurant management business but found he needed a change. In the fall of 1997, the City of Coconut Creek hired him in its Public Safety Department as a Firefighter/EMT. The city also put him through the Police Academy.
A few years later when the police department and fire department split, he went the route of law enforcement.
He’s very proud of his two decades of service on the SWAT Team. He held many positions while on the team, including sniper, team leader, and executive officer. He became a field training officer, bicycle officer, and a detective on the Special
Enforcement Team (SET). After a promotion to the rank of Sergeant, he supervised the SET, the K9 team, and the Training Unit for several years. Following promotions to Lieutenant, and later to Captain, he was assigned his current position, Operations
Division Commander, overseeing the Patrol Section and the Criminal Investigations Section of the department.
Deputy Chief Fred Hofer holds an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Broward College, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Management from Union Institute and University. He is also graduate of the Southern Police Institute’s Command Officer Development School. This summer, he was part of the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia where he learned from some of the best minds in the law enforcement and criminal justice communities.
He enjoys brewing his own beer for friends. He named many of his recipes in honor of the SWAT Team he served on for so many years, such as Shield Slam Stout, Flashbang India Pale Ale, and Special Weapons and Tactical Apple, a seasonal apple pie ale.
By far, Deputy Chief Hofer considers his greatest accomplishment to be raising his teenage daughter, Isabella. They enjoy going to nice restaurants, going to the movies, visiting places like Disney, and their favorite activity together- hunting!