Orlando- Tom Woodard was born into a family of police officers. His father was a major with the Winter Haven Police Department. His mother retired as a detective from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. It was his destiny.
After graduation from the police academy, he joined the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. He paid his dues as a 911 operator and reserve deputy. Finally, on Halloween 1988, he became a full-fledged deputy, his dream come true.
Six months later, Woodard was outed by a fellow officer, fired from his job and embroiled in a legal battle—all because he was gay. He was 24.
“It was a terrorizing experience to be outed,” said Woodard. “They tried to equate gay people with child molesters. Internal Affairs wanted to know if I had ever had sex on duty or with children.”
Three years and two trials later, Woodard won his job back. After more than 30 years on the force, Woodard, 49, retired on Jan. 31 as a Master Patrolman.
“I just said, ‘I’m done’ and gave my two weeks’ notice and left,” Woodard said. “I turned in my resignation on Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday.”
Woodard has spent the last 30 years fighting for change in the very agency that discriminated against him and embarrassed his family. He successfully pushed for an anti-discrimination policy and same-sex benefits. In July 2012, he filed a request with Sheriff Jerry Demings for bereavement and sick time for domestic partners.
“I never considered myself a hero or anything,” Woodard said. “But a lot of people do, they say ‘without you, we wouldn’t be anywhere.’”
Woodard, who will be 50 on June 4, was born and raised in Lakeland. In high school, he worked as a dispatcher for the Dundee Police Department. It was a foot in the door and he already knew the police radio codes and signals. His family tried to persuade him to follow a different career path.
“They tried to talk me out of it, but I wouldn’t listen,” Woodard said. “I really liked the investigative side, finding the bad guy and solving the crime.”
When a recruiter from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office came calling, Woodard was eager to move to Orlando and a larger agency. As a reserve deputy, he walked International Drive, rode in the helicopter for medical transport and worked with the K-9 Unit tracking suspects. After three years, he was pulled up from reserves.
His first assignment as a deputy was handling calls in Pine Hills and Apopka. His first six months, he trained with another officer.
“My family was proud,” Woodard said. “I did cross training with forensics and assisted with a couple of murders.”
At the time, Woodard had a casual relationship with an Apopka Police dispatcher, who worked with the Explorers, a program that allows youth ages 14 to 21 to experience a career in law enforcement by shadowing real cops.
When Apopka discovered the dispatcher was gay, his supervisors demanded he name other officers he knew who were gay. The dispatcher named Woodard, who was immediately called in for questioning by Orange County’s Internal Affairs.
“They said they had received information that I may be gay and they wanted to know all the details,” Woodard said.“They made me take a polygraph test and asked if I had sex on duty or with children.”
Though Woodard passed the test and was cleared of wrongdoing, then-Sheriff Walt Gallagher decided to fire Woodard because he was “an embarrassment to the agency.” Management said being gay was immoral and not in line the U.S. Military Code of Justice. They also asked him to name other gay officers.
“They told me that what they did to me they were going to do to everyone else,” Woodard said. “I told them they were crazy if they thought I was naming them so they could go on a witch hunt and fire every gay person in the agency.”
Woodard hadn’t told his family he was gay. Soon, it was all over the news that he had been fired and why. It was difficult for his mother, who was a detective in Polk County.
“It was like two knives at one time,” Woodard said. “It was terrible. She was devastated. She had to take two weeks off because she was crying all the time.”
Three years later, a jury found Woodard’s was unfairly fired and then-Circuit Judge William C. Gridley ruled he was discriminated against. The judge ordered Gallagher to give Woodard his job back with pay for the time he was out of work.
“I loved my job and I loved the people,” Woodard said.
“I never had any problems with anyone other than the sheriff. Everyone supported me.”
Woodard went back to patrolling Apopka and Pine Hills. He later worked in property crimes and spent the last 10 years at the Orange County Courthouse providing security for the judiciary.
Now that he has retired, Woodard and his domestic partner of four years, Travis Smith, 30, plan to move to St. Petersburg to start a new business. Woodard is keeping the details under wraps until plans are finalized.
He’s finished being a police officer, but he’s not finished fighting for gay men and women in uniform.
“I’ll continue the fight,” Woodard said. “We’ve come a long way and I got some policies changed, but we aren’t there yet. Not just yet.”
