BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — As one of the oldest active law enforcement officers in Florida, Edward Patten Jr. spent more than half his life fighting crime, working for seven different police departments during his 49-year career.
He rose to chief in Sunrise and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea before becoming a commander at the Broward Sheriff’s Office when it merged with Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in 2001.
Four years ago, he was diagnosed with liver cancer, which later spread to his lungs.
He died Friday. He was 71.
“Everyone has a lot of respect for him professionally,” said Capt. John Nesteruq, Patten’s supervisor at BSO for the last five years.
“Being a police officer for more than 40 years is a very odd thing for us,’' Nesteruq said. “More than half of his life was dedicated to law enforcement work, and a lot of it was in the commander capacity as chief of police.’'
He began his career in 1959 in Deerfield, Ill. A year later, he joined the Fort Lauderdale Police Department. He was a motorcycle patrolman with Ron Cochran, who later became Broward sheriff. From 1964 to 1968, Patten worked as a detective in the burglary division on Fort Lauderdale beach. He then worked in Plantation and Sunrise, eventually being appointed Sunrise police chief in 1974.
From 1980 to 1994, he owned Patten & Associates Investigations and Security.
In December 1994, he was hired as chief of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, where he served for seven years until the department merged with BSO.
As a commander for BSO, he was assigned to Youth and Neighborhood Services, where he coordinated poll deputies during the elections. He also supervised security in the BSO public safety building on Broward Boulevard at Northwest 27th Avenue near Fort Lauderdale.
“He was a mentor chief of police for many chiefs working cities nowadays,’' Nesteruq said. ``He taught a lot of people how to be good policemen, good commanders.’'
Patten and his wife, Marcia, met while he was the police chief in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
She was a flight attendant and started working for the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Police Department when they met.
The couple were married at the Mai-Kai Polynesian restaurant in Oakland Park.
“The big joke we had is that I got a son-in-law that is my same age,’' said Stanley Cohen, his father-in-law and best friend. ``We became friends instantly. We all liked him right from the beginning.’'
Patten was born May 7, 1936, near Highland Park, Ill.
He earned a master’s degree at Nova Southeastern University and graduated from the FBI Academy. From 1957 to 1959, Patten served in the U.S. Army.
Patten’s father, Edward, was the police chief at Highland Park in Illinois and his grandfather served as police chief for the Chicago Northwest Railroad Department.
“He loved being police chief of a small city where he could talk to everyone and be in charge,’' Cohen said.
The friends ate lunch everyday at Mom’s diner in Fort Lauderdale. The two talked about life, family and the daily grind.
''We talked about good things and bad things,’' Cohen said. ``He was probably the most honest guy in the world.’'
Friends and family knew him as a quiet, humble and unassuming man.
“On the outside he was a huge man with giant hands, but on the outside he was just like a pussycat,’' Cohen said.
Patten is survived by his wife, Marcia Patten of Pembroke Pines, his daughter, Michelle Bennett of Ohio, his son, J.P. Patten of Orlando, and four grandchildren.
A visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday at T.M. Ralph Funeral Home, 371 NW 136th Ave., Sunrise. A memorial service will follow at 4 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.
Copyright 2008 The Miami Herald