Tampa Police Department Reserve Officer of the Year -
Reserve Office John Thararuck

Reserve Officer John Thararuck has been a member of the Tampa Police Department’s Reserve Force since July of 2006.

He has volunteered countless hours to the mission of the Tampa Police Department, going far above and beyond the requirements and expectations of the program. He has volunteered for more than 30 special events, in addition to the required twelve hours per month minimum. Officer Thararuck has attended every monthly meeting and has even found the time to mentor new officers who attended the Reserve academy. This mentoring occurred during his assignment as the Reserve Force liaison officer. This task required well over 1,000 hours of volunteer time, which spanned 6 months.  This undertaking was conducted on several nights during the week and on weekends.

Officer Thararuck is continually looking for ways to improve the Reserve Force Unit and never hesitates to recruit new members from the public. He has been instrumental in helping to create and schedule training within the unit. After the last class of new hires graduated, he took it upon himself to bring all of these new officers to his squad.  He created a plan to extend the training of these new officers after they completed their FTEP training.  He put together the training schedule and worked with his own squad to assure they were available to facilitate this training. This, in and of itself, reduces the workload on the Reserve Force leadership and provides the unit with a self-managed philosophy. 

Reserve Officer Thararuck has earned the respect of many
full-time officers and is often called upon to assist with
additional details. He is also a member of the
Tampa Police Honor Guard within the Reserve
Unit. He utilizes this role to personify the professional
appearance and bearing that all Reserve Officers should aspire to be.

It is with great honor that we, the Reserve Force leadership, select John Thararuck as the Reserve Officer of the Year.