Bradenton Beach has completed a leadership transition at two city departments, promoting longtime police officer Lenard Diaz to police chief while former Chief John Cosby moves full-time into the role of public works director.
Diaz officially succeeded Cosby as police chief on Oct. 1. The Bradenton Beach City Commission unanimously supported Mayor John Chappie’s nomination of Diaz for the position in July.
The city marked the transition during its Oct. 1 commission meeting with a badge-pinning ceremony attended by Diaz’s family, fellow officers and community members. His wife, Christine Diaz, pinned the chief’s badge on his uniform.
Diaz brings decades of law enforcement experience to the position. He first joined the Bradenton Beach Police Department as a beach patrol officer in 1989 before moving to the Palmetto Police Department in 1990. He spent more than 12 years with Palmetto before returning to Bradenton Beach in 2002.
During his current tenure with Bradenton Beach, Diaz spent many years as a detective and was promoted to lieutenant in 2021 when Cosby became police chief. His training includes traffic homicide investigations, internal affairs, narcotics investigations, crime scene techniques and field training supervision.
Cosby retired from law enforcement Sept. 30 after a career spanning more than 38 years. He had served as Bradenton Beach police chief since 2021.
His move to public works follows more than two years of involvement with the department. Cosby began handling public works responsibilities following the departure of longtime Public Works Director Tom Woodard in May 2024 and was later named permanent director while continuing to serve as police chief.
With Diaz now leading the police department, Cosby will focus exclusively on public works. Code enforcement, which had also been under Cosby’s supervision, is now overseen by Building Official Ben Carr.
The changes complete a transition that places separate leadership over the city’s police, public works and code enforcement operations.
