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Escambia County’s First School Resource Officer Retires From ECSO
December 11, 2020
The first school resource officer in Escambia County has retired.
Commander Dale Tharp retired from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office after 39 years. On Thursday, family members and friends honored him for his nearly four decades of service.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
49 Responses to “Escambia County’s First School Resource Officer Retires From ECSO”
Congratulations Dale. You were a wonderful and positive addition to the schools. Always engaged kids with a positive attitude and I’m sure you helped countless ones stay on the right track. I wish you a very happy and wonderful retirement. Class of 90.
Congratulations….. class of 93 definitely kept him busy. So happy for him.
Officer Dale,
Congratulations! I am so happy for you….I miss you so much! I just moved back to Arizona. I would love to hear from you, Dean Hicks has all my information. Please get ahold of her! Love ya like a dad and I am thankful that you were a part of my life!
Danyelle Thomas
Officer Mr. Dale Tharp, You are one of the few that I can honestly say has been Good to young and elderly citizens of Escambia County, Florida! You will be Truly missed and needed even if you retire. Even if you see something wrongful, I Pray that your first response is help and at that moment you forget that you are retired! Thanks for your Good Services Brother!
Wishing you a very happy life. Thanks for all your help many years ago when Pine Forest had to have summer classes at Woodham.
Congratulations Pork Chop! You saved me more then once at Woodham. You are an amazing man and deserve to relax now. Live it up! Love your former student!
Congratulations Dale, I hope you enjoy a much deserved retirement! Thank you for your service to Escambia County and being a pillar of the community for people to respect. You have been a great resource and friend to many and I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family!
Dale! Enjoy your retirement. As first SRO, you set a standard for all that followed. I always admired the respect and professionalism you showed our Titans as they learned to be adults. Reading the comments, I see your lessons stuck with them. Thank you for your service to our students and our community.
Congratulations on your retirement, well deserved.
I remember this great guy! Congratulations and may God bless you as you begin this new chapter. Relax. You deserve it! Amy, c/o ‘89!
Dale,
It’s hard to believe, just how fast, the years have flown by. Not once, have I ever heard, a negative word about you. You have always been, the kindest human being, I have ever known ! I, hope and pray, that my son and son in law, who are Deputies, follow in your footsteps. That would be amazing. I am so proud to know you. I still wish, you had ran for (Sheriff). Although, we have had, some good ones. I still believe you would have made an awesome Sheriff for our county ! I hope you enjoy every minute of your retirement !! Thank you so much for your service. Your are admired and loved by many!!!
Congrats Officer Dale!!!! Happy retirement from Woodham High School C/O 89!!!
Dale, you are a great man, my kids, Charles, Labo, and Danielle (wheelchair) and i only have the highest respect for you. wishing you the best, stay safe. thanks again for all you have done.
Congratulations, Cousin!!! Best of luck in your next chapter! Love and miss you!!!!
Congratulations Mr.Dale Tharp from the class of 96
Wow!! Congratulations!!! Dale is amazing!! When I’d leave for OJT he’d always warn us of speed traps
Wow!! Congratulations!!! Dale is amazing!! When I’d leave for OJT he’d always warn us of speed traps
Congratulations Mr. Dale on your very well deserved and earned retirement. You have helped and inspired many of us throughout your career. You were the one who led us safely to and from all of our playoff games in the early to mid 80’s. I always got excited when I saw those blue lights come on and you escorting us to our destination. We considered you as a member of our great team. Thank you so much for all of your sacrifices and dedication. Woodham class of 1987. Titans4Life
Dale, you will always be the best!!! The class of ‘87 love you and appreciated everything you did. You were a big part of our class!!! You made a us all love and respect sheriff/police officers. You inspired a lot of us!!! They broke the mold after you!!! Congratulation on an amazing career and enjoy your retirement!!!!!
Mr. Dale you was the resource officer and too this day you will remember your kids. You treated us as if we was your own……enjoy your retirement !!!!!
Congratulations Officer Dale, you started at Woodham High I believe my senior year.
Always so easy to talk to. Never tolerated bullying and treated everyone like they were equals. I remember you never really sat still very long. Encouraged myself and other to always try to do better. Job well done sir!
Many congratulations, Dale! You are the only SRO I ever knew, so I can’t compare you to anyone else . . . but I KNOW FOR SURE that you were THE BEST! You kept us safe at WHS, and you also added lots of humor to our days. Do you remember when we had “arrest day” or something like that, when you went to classes and took kids to jail . . . all in fun, of course! I wish you a very happy retirement, my friend. Do lots of whatever you love to do! Hey! Come to see us in the Land of Enchantment . . . that’s New Mexico! Sending you lots of love and great big hugs!
Sandy Young
Congratulations on your retirement Dale
Congratulations on your retirement Commander Tharp. I will always thank you for the nickname “sexy legs” after our Halloween Band halftime show in 1986. You were a great guy. Thanks from the class of 1987.
He was such a great person to have around. Always smiling! Congrats and thank you for your service. Woodham Class of 90.
Congratulations! We all love you Dale! You are one of the best. Thank you for always treating us with respect! #WoodhamTitans c/o 97
Congratulations! I hope you enjoy retirement! You definitely deserve it. Thank you for all your years of service.
Woodham class of 93
Congrats Officer Tharp, you will never understand all the help you gave me to direct me in my life. Enjoy, you deserve it.
Class of ‘97! I loved him!
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Officer Dale while working as an Assistant Manager at Dirt Cheap. Even if it were just for a moment, he always entered the store with a smile on his face. His presence was undeniable. He was always kind to those that crossed his path.
For what it’s worth, he definitely impacted my life just by showing me no matter how bad things may seem, there’s always reason to smile……
Congrats Officer Dale, I wish you nothing but the best & pray you’ll enjoy your retirement.
Maybe we’ll cross paths again in the future as I’m no longer at DC…. God Bless
Thank you for your service to the students of Escambia County schools. Enjoy your retirement.
Awesome human being Woodham High class of 1990!
It is great to see there are good LE out there that are so admired by the public for truly having a passion and love for others. Hopefully he has passed some of that down to other, new ECSO. And they remember we are all citizens. Great job, enjoy your retirement!!!!!
Congratulations!! Enjoy this next chapter… Thank you for your service! Woodham Class of ‘95 – Go Titans!!
Congratulations Commander Tharp on your retirement. Woodham Class of’ ‘87.
Very awesome! What an accomplishment here(((:you should be proud pat on the back for sure
thank you for your hard work and service!
Officer Dale! You are def one in a million. Even years after graduating from Woodham in 1986 if I see you out and about you still remember me.
My daughter has had a couple of SROs that do a pretty good job but none compare. You were the perfect role model to begin the SRO program! Enjoy Retirement…You deserve it!
Congratulations, for your service and a difficult job well done. Wishing you the best in your retirement. Welcome to the other side.
Officer Dale you were the sweetest..kindest and bravest officer ever known…those eyes were the killer amongst us younger females..lol..you will forever make my memories of Woodham High the best..you were and still are HIGHLY respected..much love always…
Congratulations Dale for over 3 decades of honorable service to the citizens of Escambia County and this nation!!
Congratulations, sir! Thank you for helping my hard headed self & my parents get through my teenage years! Will always remember you & my dad hunting us skippers of school at Sikes Pipe Company. (Woodham) You had us all figured out & were always on our heels! What a ride! Congratulations on your well deserved retirement & thanks again! Your kindness and positivity will always be remembered and appreciated. <3
Way to go Dale. Thank you for your service and all the good times at Woodham
Congratulations, hope you make many more memories in retirement! Enjoy the family time also!
BEFORE I LOOKED AT THE WHOLE ARTICLE I KNEW IT WAS DALE .CONGRATULATIONS HE WAS MY SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER. HE IS A AMAZING PERSON. VERY FAIR AND UNDERSTANDING. ECSO COULDN’T HAVE HIRED A BETTER PERSON WHEN THEY HIRED HIM. HE IS A PERSON THAT WILL LEAVE A MEMORY WITH YOU. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR RETIREMENT AND ENJOY THE GOOD LIFE CAUSE U DESERVE IT. CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN.
Congratulations Dale, I hope you and Mary the best! We all love yall. Come see us.
Congratulations Officer Dale you was always nice and friendly to all the students at Woodham High. Class of ‘91
Congratulations and Thanks for your many years of service
Thank you Mr. Dale for your service!
Congratulations, Commander Tharp..initially I was not in favor of SRO in the public schools because I felt there was not enough need for them..how wrong I was..not only were they a bridge between the students and their community
they were a great teaching resource when teaching the 4th Amendment Search and Seizure in my CIVICS class..also loved working with his sister,DEBBIE THARP ALLTOP, our school receptionist who died way too soon of brain cancer.