Changes

John R. Powell is a law enforcement professional who is most recognized for his run for Sheriff in Escambia County in 2012. Powell is a native of Pensacola, Florida. He started his law enforcement career as an Escambia County Sheriff's Deputy for over 12 years. He received a Medal of Distinction during that time. Other positions in Powell's back ground include working as a Special Agent of the FBI, Chief of Police in several jurisdictions including Chief of Police in Dothan, Alabama, closer to his home in Pensacola. Experience as the Director of the Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco Department for the State of Florida and Law Enforcement/Security Advisor for the United Nations under the State Department of the United States and the Bureau of International Narcotics and law Enforcement Affairs, International Police in Haiti define Powell's 30+ years of leadership experience within the law enforcement field.  Powell lost the 2012 election due to good faith errors with his campaign financing that were blown out of proportion in the media by the encumbant Sheriff, David Morgan. The charges were misdemeanors and when the errors became apparent, restitution was made to make good of the errors; however Sheriff Morgan used his cronyism with State Attorney Bill Eddins to convene a grand jury for misdemeanor charges, which is completely abnormal and a waste of taxpayer money. Upon challenging the grand jury indictment, Powell's legal team found that the grand jury was improperly held. The Florida Statutes outline strict procedures that were found not to take place in the case. The State Attorney Bill Eddins approached Powell's legal team to find a way to make the exposure of the grand jury impropriety go away because the finding of deriliction of grand jury procedure could call into question numerous other cases that could potentially bankrupt Escambia County. Without delay and quietly, the charges were dropped against Powell. This did not occur until after the election and the disparity to Powell's image.