BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At this evening’s Gainesville City Commission meeting, Nelson Moya was sworn in as the Chief of the Gainesville Police Department.

City Manager Cynthia Curry gave a brief biography of Moya: He was born in Ecuador and raised in Columbia until he was nine, when he immigrated to the United States with his family. He started third grade knowing no English and spent two months struggling while he learned the language but then excelled in school. He began his law enforcement career with the Palm Bay Police Department when he was 19 and rose through the ranks to become the Chief in 2019. In 2022, Moya became the first Latino immigrant to be the Deputy County Executive for Probation and Juvenile Intervention in Suffolk County, NY. He arrived in Gainesville in March 2023 to serve as Assistant Chief, was appointed Interim Police Chief in April 2024, and was named Chief on September 16, 2024.

After taking his oath of office from Bishop Christopher Stokes and receiving his pin from his wife and daughter, Moya thanked Curry, the Mayor and Commissioners, and the Charter Officers, and then he thanked other law enforcement professionals in the room for being there, including State Attorney Brian Kramer, Sheriff Emery Gainey, and newly-appointed University of Florida Police Chief Bart Knowles.

Moya said it was special for his daughter to be old enough to experience the moment with him and thanked his wife for her sacrifices through several moves in recent years: “It’s been a journey. It’s been a great journey, but I couldn’t do anything without her support and love… So thank you for taking care of our family.”

Moya said his swearing-in “marks a moment of our evolution as an organization, as we continue to transform into what we will mark as our history moving forward. So to all of you that work at the Gainesville Police Department, I am honored to share our building with you, to see you every day and watch you perform over the last year-plus that I’ve been here. I know I’ve challenged you, I know that, and it’s no easy task, the things that we’re asking you to do, but you rise to that occasion every day with excellence. So I pray that you continue on your pathway to really unite as an organization.”

He said he was “here for a snapshot in time before somebody else takes the reins… So we must do our part to leave a legacy for years to come… We have to define what our history will be, and it starts now.”

Moya also asked the public to give grace to police officers: “To our community – this organization and the men and women, sworn, professional, they do incredible things for you every day. They see in one day what we don’t wish for most to see in a lifetime – and how they take care and protect you from crime and violence. Give them grace, try to understand their perspective, and rest assured that we hold them to a high degree of accountability. It is my job to ensure that they do it right. It is my job that they connect with you and that they build relationships with you and that they fight crime and keep us all safe.”