OCALA – Ocala police Chief Greg Graham died Sunday morning in a plane crash, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office said the crash happened around 11:30 a.m. Sunday near the Marion County Airport in southwest Marion County.
Graham's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday at First Baptist Church of Ocala. On Tuesday, his body was taken from the Medical Examiner's Office in Leesburg to the Hiers-Baxley Funeral Home in Ocala, with a police escort along the route.
Graham led the police department since 2012, and his career with the department dates back to the 1980s.
Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn has named OPD Deputy Chief Mike Balken as interim chief.
Spokesperson Valerie Strong with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said the plane was Graham’s personal aircraft and he was the only person on board the single-engine plane. According to Guinn, Graham recently obtained his pilot’s license.
In a post on the Ocala Police Department Facebook page, the Department offered tribute to Graham:
In a news release, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said, "The family of Chief Greg Graham, Ocala Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Office and all who knew Chief Graham experienced a tragedy today. Right now, the focus is to assist his family and his family in blue who are impacted by his sudden and tragic loss."
The crash is being investigated by the Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Aviation Administration.