- March 4, 2025
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre has appointed Lt. Steve Cole to commander of the agency’s Investigative Services Division.
Cole is the only member of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office who holds a top-secret clearance from the FBI.
He also headed the only two long-term racketeering investigations the agency has ever conducted, which led to the dimsantling of a local street gang and a career burglary ring. He was recognized for his work by the State Attorney's Office and the Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Cole has worked for the Sheriff's Office since May 1994, when he began his career as a road deputy. Since then, he has served in nearly every division of the agency.
“Commander Cole is a veteran law enforcement officer who has built his career in Flagler County,” Manfre said in a statement. “He has shown his commitment to this community and he is extremely qualified for this post.”
Cole was assigned as a School Resource Deputy from 1999 to 2001. From there, he entered the Investigative Services Division as a detective, where he worked on investigations of criminal street
gangs, crimes against children, thefts and larcenies and homicides. As a corporal, he oversaw the
investigation division for two years, from 2005 to 2007.
In 2007, he was promoted to sergeant while directing the investigations division. In November 2011, he
was promoted to lieutenant and served as a watch commander for the Road Patrol Division until January 2013, when he was assigned to the investigations division and appointed supervisor of the School Resource Division and Special Victims Section.
