Stephen Walker began his career with the Lakeland Police Department in 1990 as a patrol officer. In 1992, he was assigned to the School Resource Unit/Juvenile Division of the Criminal Investigations Section. In 1994 he joined the SWAT Team and functioned as the Team Medic and Entry Team member. In 1995, Captain Walker was promoted to Sergeant, serving in the Patrol Division. In 2002, he was assigned as the Sergeant of Street Crimes and in 2002 was promoted to Lieutenant.
As Lieutenant, Walker served as the Officer in Charge of the Patrol Division from 2003 to 2005, commanded the General Services Section from 2005 to 2008, led the Special Operations Section from 2009 to 2012, supervised the Neighborhood Liaison Section from 2012 to 2013 and the Office of Professional Standards/Internal Affairs from 2013 to 2014. Promoted to Captain, he served as the Commanding Officer of the Support Services and Special Services Bureau from 2014 to 2017, the Commanding Officer of the Patrol Division 2017-219 and the Commanding Officer of the Special Operations Division in the Support Services Bureau from 2019 until his retirement in 2020.
After 2-years of retirement, Walker missed serving the community and began his career with the Bartow Police Department in 2022 as the Law Enforcement Commander and was promoted from Captain to Deputy Chief (DC) of the Bartow Police Department by then Police Chief Andy Ray on December 1, 2023. He has served as the acting head of the department since Ray's retirement on April 5, 2024.
DC Walker has a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Troy University, a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology from Saint Leo University, and is a Certified Public Manager. Additionally, he is a graduate of the 124th Session of the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville and the 56th Session of the Senior Management Institute for Police. DC Walker also is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Florida Executive Development Seminar. Additionally, Capt. Walker is highly trained in Emergency Management and is certified, by the Florida Division of Emergency Management as a Type III Planning Section Chief.