My Clearwater
Fall 11
Chief Klein's Hall of Fame Induction
A former longtime chief of the Clearwater Police
Department was inducted into the Florida
Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame in
Tallahassee.
Chief Sidney R. Klein, who died in 2020, was
among several who were honored this past
summer. He was chief of police in Clearwater for
29 years and was in law enforcement for 47 years.
He also served in the U.S. Navy for three years.
Chief Klein began his law enforcement career in
1963 with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Department.
In 1966, he was assigned to Internal Affairs where he
worked in a special investigative unit called “the sheriff’s
squad,” which reported directly to Sheriff E. Wilson Purdy.
This squad specifically worked cases involving organized
crime and political corruption.
In 1968, he began working undercover in the narcotics unit.
In 1970, he moved to Colorado to join the new Lakewood
Department of Public Safety. Named agent of the year in
1970 and 1971, he was promoted through the ranks to
assistant director in 1978, while also earning his master’s
degree in criminal justice.
In 1981, he applied for and was selected as Clearwater’s
chief of police, where he served for 29 years. Chief Klein
distinguished himself with innovative programs such as the
Clearwater Homeless Intervention Project,
Hispanic Outreach Program and countless
community policing initiatives which
won national recognition. He applied
for and received the first federal
grant to create a human trafficking
task force, a program that has been
duplicated all over the world.
He retired from the Clearwater Police
Department in 2010, after 47 years in
law enforcement. Chief Klein’s passing in
2020 leaves behind an incredible legacy of leadership
and countless contributions to the communities he served.
“Chief Klein instilled an organizational culture at CPD
that embraces community engagement, problem solving
and partnerships,” said Dan Slaughter, current chief of
the Clearwater Police Department. “The community still
benefits today from his work, and will for many years to
come.”