This weekend marked another funeral for a local police officer. Sergeant Phil Quandt, a 22-year veteran of the St. Petersburg Police Department and local Fraternal Order of Police chapter representative, died last Monday after being admitted to the hospital for breathing problems. His funeral was Saturday.
He was 45.
Over the past year, I spoke to Quandt numerous times about the troubles inside the St. Petersburg Police Department. He was a fierce critic of Mayor Rick Baker and Chief Chuck Harmon, and respected among many patrol officers I’ve come across. In our last face-to-face conversation, Quandt railed on policies he said were forcing veteran and rookie police officers to leave the force at an astounding rate.
