Police Officer Testing Job Punta Gorda area,Florida USA,Government

police officer

the punta gorda police department will be testing candidates for the position of police officer. Upon successful completion of the testing process candidates will be eligible for consideration for police officer positions. Starting salary will be $64,078.56. We are currently accepting applications only from the following:

candidates who are currently law enforcement certified in florida;
candidates who are eligible for equivalency of training (eot) in florida;
candidates who are currently enrolled in a florida law enforcement academy;
candidates with prior sworn or civilian experience in the law enforcement field (including as officers, corrections officer, dispatchers, etc.)

applications and all required documents must be received by human resources no later than 4:00pm on friday, august 21, 2026.

please only provide specified documents. to complete release for credit/personal background information form and attach to your application. This is required upon submittal. to complete drug free and certification form and attach to your application. This is required upon submittal. The city of punta gorda employs three tools in determining the qualifications of each police officer candidate:

written examination:

the written examination will be administered virtually and may be taken at any time between monday, august 24, 2026, and sunday, august 30, 2026. Candidates will be provided with the website and login information once the application process has closed. The written examination is comprised of three section: grammar, reading comprehension, and mathematics. Candidates must receive a passing score of 70% on both the grammar and reading comprehension sections and a minimum composite score of 60% for all three sections to move forward in the process.

Study guides are available through the testing company website for a nominal fee.

oral board examinations:

the oral board examinations will be held in-person or via zoom video conference on thursday, september 10, 2026, for those candidates who successful pass the written examination. Candidates will be assigned the time for their oral board after written examination is completed.

applicants who successfully complete this pre-hire testing process will be placed in the police officer eligibility list and are not automatically in position of employment. They may be considered for a police officer position as such positions become available. Eligibility for consideration of employment will last for one year from the date of the written exam or until the eligibility list is depleted.

notice florida administrative code 11b-27 provides guidelines for the certification, employment, appointment, revocation and denial of certification for sworn law enforcement officers in the state of florida. In addition to those guidelines, candidates for employment will be removed from consideration under the following circumstances:

any previous professional standards (internal affairs) investigations or the like involving excessive use of force with a sustained finding;

any previous professional standards (internal affairs) investigations or the like involving untruthfulness with a sustained finding;

any illegal misdemeanor narcotic possession or usage within the past 24 months; and

any illegal felony narcotic possession or usage within the past 60 months.

the city of punta gorda is a drug free workplace, equal opportunity and veterans' preference employer. All elements of the selection process shall be job related and the criteria for selection of candidates is not based upon a candidate's race, color, religion, sex, age or national origin.

example of duties

observe, detect, and apprehend violators of traffic and other laws;
observe and take appropriate action regarding any hazards to the community and any illegal criminal activities;
respond to emergency calls for service and assist the fire department and ems as necessary;
conduct investigations as needed;
determine appropriate action to be taken at each incident;
may be required to complete a written report of various activities during a shift.
complete all appropriate forms when required for an incident, including…