A Florida police chief Greg Graham died Sunday morning after a single-engine plane he was piloting crashed into an open field.
The death of Ocala police chief was confirmed by the Marion County Sheriff's Office in a Facebook post.
Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn also confirmed Graham's death and noted that Graham had recently received his pilot's license.
The plane crashed around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday in an open field in the area of Dunnellon, not far from the Marion County Airport. Graham was the sole occupant of the plane.
Federal Aviation Administration officials are investigating Graham's death. No one else was injured in the crash.
"Greg Graham, by job description, was a fellow law enforcement leader. But, by human, personal definition, I call him a friend and mentor. He did all of these well," Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said in the Facebook post.
Graham became chief of the Ocala Police Department in January 2012 and had served with the department since the 1980s.
Guinn said Ocala Deputy Chief Mike Balken will be named interim police chief.
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