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Ocala
Thursday, April 25, 2024

Local teen becomes Ocala Police Chief for a day

A teenager from Ocala recently got to experience being Police Chief for a day.

According to a social media post from the Ocala Police Department, 14-year-old John-Mark Wallace was selected to act as Police Chief for a day thanks to a community auction for a local non-profit organization.

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14-year-old John-Mark Wallace with Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken (Photo courtesy of the Ocala Police Department)
Local teen gets to be Ocala Police Chief for a day
John-Mark sitting behind the Police Chief’s desk (Photo courtesy of the Ocala Police Department)

John-Mark brought along a friend, Carter, to share in the experience.

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John-Mark and his friend, Carter checking out one of the police department’s motorcycles (Photo courtesy of the Ocala Police Department

During his day with the police department, John-Mark was given a tour of the entire agency. He also met Mayor Kent Guinn, took part in some K-9 training, and rode inside a SWAT MRAP vehicle, among other activities.

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The experience included a full tour of the agency (Photo courtesy of the Ocala Police Department)
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John-Mark with Mayor Kent Guinn (Photo courtesy of the Ocala Police Department)

On its Facebook webpage, the Ocala Police Department stated, “We had a blast hanging out with John-Mark. Thanks, John-Mark for being a great Police Chief for the day.”