A West Virginia native, Coates graduated from Poca High School. He worked for three years for the South Charleston Police Department before moving to Florida where he joined the Florida Highway Patrol in 1983. He worked his way up through the ranks where he will retire with the rank Major. His last duty post is Director of the Florida Highway Patrol Academy.
Coates graduated from the West Virginia State Police Academy and the Florida Highway Patrol Academy. He has a B.A. Degree from Barry University. He has also completed training at Florida State University,
He has worked on the scenes of such disasters as the shift commander during the ValuJet crash in 1996 and the incident commander at an Amtrak derailment in 2002.
Coates has coached girls’ softball for several years. He and his wife, Kendra, have two children. His wife is also a native of West Virginia. Coates will retire from the Florida Highway Patrol at the end of January 2011. He will begin work in St. Albans on Feb. 14, 2011.
Coates will replace Chief Joe Crawford, who is retiring after 24 years of service.