Issue 3: July-September 2018
In This Issue: Training: Active Assailants Chili Cook-Off Winners Crime Stoppers Golf Tournament PCSO Charity Golf Tournament The Guardian Unit
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Who are the men and women in the bright yellow polo shirts at elementary schools? The answer is on page 12.
Issue 3: July-September 2018
With the ongoing threat of active-assailant events throughout our nation, training our deputies how to respond to these complicated events is one of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office’s top priorities. Each week during in-service training, Training Division deputies brief trainees about the latest incidents, trends, and equipment, and they provide suggestions on how to prepare for these situations. For example: 1. Prepare a “go bag”: a bag of gear that is readily accessible for a quick deployment from your cruiser. Likewise, keep in your cruiser extra equipment such as magazines with ammunition, additional first-aid items, hydration aids, food, and a fully charged radio battery. 2. Remember that overall preparedness includes the way the gear is situated in your cruiser. Ensure your gear is in an accessible location to reduce the effort required to retrieve it. During a call, this allows you to focus on overall safety and a plan of action while reducing response times and potentially save lives.
3. If you are assigned to a specific area, familiarize yourself with large properties, especially schools. Meet with school resource deputies to discuss response plans. 4. The majority of active-assailant incidents last five minutes or less, so quick response is crucial. This means you may need to respond solo. DO NOT overtask yourself during a solo response. If you engage or stop the assailant during a solo response, stay with him/her until backup arrives, and be a good “quarterback” for the rest of the responding units.
These tips will be practiced during training – whether responding solo or as a member of a contact team – with at least three types of active-assailant scenarios. Training deputies incorporate role players acting as school Guardians into the scenarios. Guardians stationed at elementary and charter schools throughout Pinellas County may be the first to encounter an active assailant, so it is pivotal to incorporate working with a Guardian into your response plan. These training scenarios challenge deputies both physically and mentally while providing critical feedback to use during actual active-assailant events, whether in a school or another venue.
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2nd Annual
COOK-OFF From sweet to savory, the six entries in the second Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Chili Cook-off, Friday, September 28th, spanned the flavor spectrum. Members, including command staff, tasted and anonymously voted on which chili really tickled their taste buds. When the afternoon of scrumptious samples came to a close, Grants Administration member Richard Interrante presented first-place, Jennifer Crockett from the Public Relations Bureau came in second-place, and Karen Main from the Purchasing Division won third place. Below are the winners with their coveted handcrafted trophies. Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to everyone who participated.
1st Place Richard Interrante Grants Administration
3rd Place Karen Main Purchasing Division
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2nd Place Jennifer Crockett Public Relations Bureau
Issue 3: July-September 2018
Congratulations to the members who were recognized by community groups.
Flight Mechanic Brian Egnatuk Bright Star Support Person of the Quarter Award In his more than 25 years of service as a dedicated aircraft maintenance professional for the Flight Unit, Brian has become a trusted expert in ensuring our aircraft are available to serve the community and that our aircrews come home safely every time. Recent changes in Flight Unit capabilities has led to an increased level of service to the community. However, it has also led to a 30% increase in flight time. Because helicopters require maintenance based on flight time, regardless of anything breaking, Brian’s workload has significantly increased, as well. Despite having only one other maintenance staff member, Brian managed finite resources and time to keep up with agency demands while maintaining a high level of safety. Throughout the process he worked to lower maintenance costs in ways that only someone of his experience and expertise could do. In a year that his skills have been put to test more than ever before, Brian has risen to the challenge with professionalism and determination. Detective Adam Phelps Bright Star Law Enforcement Deputy of the Quarter Award Adam is a Task Force Officer (TFO) assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration in Tampa. A case named “Operation Top Dog Hot Dog,” which involved a suspect allegedly producing counterfeit pills with Fentanyl, was originally a PCSO case that was transferred to Adam in an effort to obtain federal fraud charges. In December 2017 a confidential informant was able to purchase the counterfeit pills directly from the main suspect, which was a huge break in this investigation. A month later, investigators stopped a co-conspirator and seized a large amount of money and Fentanyl from his vehicle. Later, they found and seized $1.3 million and several pill presses from this same co-conspirator’s residence in Palm Harbor which was eventually seized. As the investigation continued, federal indictments on four suspects were obtained along with three federal search warrants, which resulted in the seizure of about 500 grams of fentanyl, 3,000 grams of molly, an Audi A8, an Aston Martin, a Bentley, a Porsche and three pills presses. In May 2018, three suspects were arrested and two were given court dates. While the investigation continues, Adam’s countless hours of thorough investigation removed a substantial amount of the very lethal drug from the streets and took one step toward ending the fentanyl epidepic. Deputy Erik Spoor Bright Star Detention Deputy of the Quarter Award When Erik was transferred to the Support Services Division in the Department of Detention and Corrections (DDC) in November 2016, he began to assist in overseeing the Pinellas County Jail Campus Infrastructure Project. The Project is a major construction project impacting all DDC facilities, the Criminal Courthouse, Facility Maintenance, and the Purchasing Division. Budgeted at approximately 87 million dollars, the project includes the construction of the Infrastructure Building and Purchasing Warehouse, along with upgrades to the existing civil underground system, chilled water system, and kitchen. Erik went above and beyond in ensuring the coordination and scheduling of off-duty details, managing security clearance contractor applications, creating and maintaining various spreadsheets and record logs, updating the project’s SharePoint page, reviewing construction documents and supervising various contractors throughout the campus to ensure tasks were completed as efficiently as possible. He adjusted his schedule and often answered calls, addressed complaints, and responded to emergencies after work hours. Because of Erik’s dedication, the Purchasing and Infrastructure Buildings were opened successfully.
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Deputy Tracy Longano Downtown Optimist Club of St. Petersburg, Respect for Law Award Tracy received the Downtown Optimist Club Respect for Law Award for her passion for and dedication to the youth in the Pinellas County community. One of the purposes of an “Optimist Club” is to aid and encourage the development of youth. In her work with runaway children, Tracy interacts with juveniles and their families on a daily basis in an attempt to help them navigate whatever challenges they are facing. Likewise, Tracy attended the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch’s summer camp as a mentor to 10- and 11-yearolds, providing them opportunity to see law enforcement in a different, positive light.
Sergeant Michele Gibson & Deputy Faye Wilkinson Pinellas County Osteopathic Medical Society, Recognition Award At about 1 p.m., a citizen alerted Faye that a woman was lying on the floor in the restroom at the St. Petersburg Judicial Building. Faye called for assistance on her radio and rushed to the restroom, where she found the unresponsive woman on the floor of the handicap stall. She managed to gain access to the locked stall and found that the woman did not have a pulse and was not breathing. Michele quickly arrived on scene in response to Faye’s radio call. Michele applied AED pads to the woman and calmly followed the instructions the device provided. When it directed to begin CPR, Michele began chest compressions while Faye inserted her NUMask to prepare for rescue breaths. The woman gasped, started breathing on her own, and rolled to her side, and Sergeant Gibson and Deputy Wilkinson monitored her until paramedics arrived. Without Sergeant Gibson’s and Deputy Wilkinson’s quick responses and prompt actions, the woman would not have survived this medical emergency.
Deputy George Leontidis & Deputy Brandon Lundy Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce, Law Enforcement Officer or the Year While driving at highway speeds through Tennessee on agency business, George and Brandon observed a vehicle rolling and bouncing off the guardrail on the shoulder of the interstate. George immediately stopped their cruiser, strategically parking it to block the shoulder of the roadway and prevent the out-of-control vehicle from re-entering the busy highway. Brandon ran to the vehicle, where he found that the driver was unconscious. The vehicle continued moving, and both deputies ran alongside it, banging on the windows and doors in an attempt to wake the driver. Eventually, the driver appeared to regain semi-consciousness, but his eyes continued to flutter as if he were experiencing some sort of medical emergency. They continued attempting to wake him, and finally, the driver regained enough consciousness that he understood the deputies’ commands and put the vehicle in park before it re-entered the road or struck anything else. Once paramedics arrived, they learned that the man suffers from fainting spells brought on by stress. Through their exemplary actions and outstanding performance, George and Brandon proved their dedication to keeping the public safe – in Pinellas County and abroad.
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Issue 3: July-September 2018
9/24/2018 This year, we raised more than $35,000 for the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches. Thanks to generous people like you, hundreds of at-risk children will receive the help and guidance they need to lead productive lives.
Overall Tournament Champion
1st Place East Course
2nd Place East Course
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3rd Place East Course
1st Place West Course
3rd Place West Course
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2nd Place West Course
Issue 3: July-September 2018
TRANSITIONS
Changes In The Troops
Due to the changing number of entries in this edition, we apologize for any unintended omissions. For promotions, transfers, and new hires, go to SONET, “Administration,” “Human Resources,” “Changes in the Troops.”
RETIREMENTS The following is a list of members and their official retirement dates. Some members opted to use accrued time and leave early, but their official retirement date is listed below.
JUNE 2018
Deputy Cynthia Cao retired 6/4/2018 after 7 years of service. Christina Connolly retired 6/4/2018 after 18 years of service. Deputy Miguel Echevarria retired 6/29/2018 after 31 years of service. Jean Feazell retired 6/17/2018 after 16 years of service. Deputy Alexandra Garrett retired 6/28/2018 after 8 years of service. Sergeant Thomas Goettel retired 6/29/2018 after 31 years of service. Deputy Jim Lewis retired 6/29/2018 after 11 years of service. Deputy Mark Ondrey retired 6/29/2018 after 26 years of service. Lieutenant Annette Perez-Ford retired 6/9/2018 after 23 years of service. Sergeant Christopher Sivon retired 6/29/2018 after 28 years of service. Corporal David Wall retired 6/27/2018 after 15 years of service. David Young retired 6/13/2018 after 12 years of service. Jessica Zamora retired 6/22/2018 after 18 years of service.
JULY 2018
Deputy Kelly Gaull retired 7/27/2018 after 26 years of service. Karen Lees retired 7/20/2018 after 11 years of service. Glenn Scott retired 7/10/2018 after 10 years of service. Micky Thompson retired 7/9/2018 after 14 years of service. Deputy Patrick Turner retired 7/3/2018 after 5 years of service. Deputy Sandra Wright retired 7/21/2018 after 24 years of service. Allen Yount retired 7/31/2018 after 21 years of service. Deputy Elonda Zinge retired 7/31/2018 after 31 years of service.
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AUGUST 2018
Pamela Brangers retired 8/16/2018 after 14 years of service. Deputy Mary Burch retired 8/31/2018 after 12 years of service. Lynn Castle retired 8/9/2018 after 11 years of service. Deputy William Copley retired 8/30/2018 after 17 years of service. Mitzi Dasher retired 8/31/2018 after 36 years of service. Robert Dilcher retired 8/24/2018 after 20 years of service. Mary Ann Isernio retired 8/27/2018 after 13 years of service. Michael Majka retired 8/9/2018 after 12 years of service. Deputy Scott May retired 8/31/2018 after 24 years of service. William Schade, Jr. retired 8/3/2018 after 25 years of service. Deputy Diana Sigler retired 8/3/2018 after 12 years of service. Sergeant Glenn Ward retired 8/3/2018 after 29 years of service.
SEPTEMBER 2018
Deputy Brett Foute retired 9/20/2018 after 18 years of service. John Grosbeck retired 9/4/2018 after 7 years of service. Marie Mott retired 9/21/2018 after 23 years of service. Deputy Ronald Spandet, Jr. retired 9/14/2018 after 19 years of service. Jobe Walko retired 9/6/2018 after 13 years of service.
NEW HIRES JULY 2018
Deputy Joseph Bowden III Robert Dantschisch, School Crossing Guard Chelsea Caroll, Program Specialist Ralena Dauber, School Crossing Guard Michael Lyman, School Crossing Guard
AUGUST 2018
Nahr Alvarado-Barbosa, Inmate Records Specialist I Edward Harris Jr., School Crossing Guard Gerard Hankle, Criminal Justice Specialist Deepesh Joseph, Information Technology Manager
Yasmin Keller, School Crossing Guard Taryn Kersey, Court Processing Technician Ian Osterland, Public Safety Telecommunicator Deputy Roland Shannonhouse Denise Thomann, School Crossing Guard Deputy Peter Venero
SEPTEMBER 2018
Meltem Aminni, Criminal Justice Specialist Aaron Armsheimer, Criminal Justice Specialist Diane Battle, Licensed Mental Health Counselor Courtney Behrens, Licensed Practitioner Nurse Scarlett Bentley, Administrative Assistant Levi Blake, Deputy Recruit Martine Boling, Criminal Justice Specialist Erik Brown, Deputy Recruit Michonae Brown, Inmate Records Specialist III Warren Chriss, Deputy Recruit Shelby Coniglio, Deputy Recruit Ryan Duval, Administrative Assistant Steven Ealy, Deputy Recruit Amy Fahy, Administrative Assistant Brian Hirshman, Deputy Recruit Haley Hunt, School Crossing Guard Steven Jacobsen, Deputy Recruit Jacquelyn Kahanek, Inmate Records Specialist III Christina Lewis, Senior Administrative Assistant Jacob Marshall, Criminal Justice Specialist Isabelle Martini, Deputy Recruit Thomas Moraca Jr., School Crossing Guard Christine Moraca, School Crossing Guard Megan Nowakowski, Crime Analyst Peggy Propst, Court Processing Technician Tyler Reidy, Deputy Recruit David Reynoso, Deputy Recruit Jean Rondeau, School Crossing Guard Christopher Russell, Deputy Recruit Nicole Schmiedt, Fingerprint Technician Darlene Sirois, School Crossing Guard Jennifer Sittloh, Deputy Recruit Matthew Skypack, Deputy Recruit Danielle Snyder, Property/Evidence Clerk Robert Stull, Deputy Recruit Thomas Stull, Information Technology Assistant Director Justin Tabor, Deputy Recruit Pamela Thompson, School Crossing Guard Laura Travathan, Alternative Sentencing Specialist Lauren Zook, Administrative Assistant
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Issue 3: July-September 2018
Upco
November 2 November 14 November 30 December 1 December 14
PCSO Employee Appreciation Picnic Great American Teach-In Retiree Holiday Luncheon 25th Annual Ride & Run With The Stars Sheriff’s Holiday Party
If your physician recommends that you have a diagnostic test or surgical procedure, did you know that place of service matters? Yes, it does! Ask your doctor to give you three options for where the test or surgery may be performed. Your member responsibility will most often be the highest if services are rendered at a hospital versus an outpatient facility. Therefore, when selecting your place of service, you should consider and verify the following: 1) .Can your doctor render the service(s) in his/her medical office? If not; 2) .Do you have the option to select a stand-alone, outpatient, or day surgery facility instead of a local hospital? 3) .Is the physician, outpatient facility, diagnostic lab, surgical center, or hospital contracted with UnitedHealthcare (UHC)? Once you know your options, verify all of the above at www.myuhc.com or by calling UHC at 1-800-377-5108 to price out your procedure and to confirm any out-of-pockets costs. You can also use the Estimate Healthcare Costs tool on the main UHC homepage to estimate your out-of-pocket costs for diagnostic testing or surgical procedures. However, keep in mind that this is only an estimate. A good health care consumer is an informed health care consumer. Take control of your health and your health care costs!
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oming Events
Before Sheriff Tucker’s changes, the sheriff’s operational budget and deputies’ salaries were solely based on how many arrests (and other assorted duties) were performed. For example, each arrest garnered $7.50, a return on a warrant was worth $0.25, taking a prisoner to jail received $1.50, and releasing a prisoner earned $0.50. Sheriff Tucker realized that this “fee system” was susceptible to corruption. So in 1952, he approached the Board of County Commissioners, proposing a “budget system” that covered salaries and operational funding and included limits on what the sheriff and deputies could earn. At this time, deputies’ typical pay was between $100 and $200 per month, and the sheriff’s salary could not exceed $7,500 per year. Under this new system, any remaining money was returned to the county, and the budget was paid for by county taxes. Sheriff Tucker was also responsible for hiring Carl McMullen. McMullen had just returned from serving as a paratrooper in WWII and was working as a bonded deputy on St. Pete Beach. While bonded deputies were not actual employees, they were sent to areas without local police departments to enforce the law. Sheriff Tucker knew McMullen’s dad, JR, from his time with the Clearwater Police Department and the County Patrol, where he had served for more than 30 years. In an interview with McMullen – the only interviewee who remembered Sheriff Tucker personally (and spoke very fondly of him) – he stated that the sheriff approached him in front of the Beach Theater on Corey Avenue and asked him to become a deputy. This launched McMullen’s long career at the PCSO, which will be covered in a future “PCSOle Days” installment. Next, Sheriff Sid Saunders (1953-1958) was elected, having previously served as a police officer for the Atlantic Railroad and as a Pinellas County constable. He was the first to hire a female matron at the jail (only for day shift), and he started the agency’s first dispatching service.
Before this time when radio dispatchers were hired, deputies were dispatched by either St. Petersburg or Clearwater police departments. With this new service, the Sheriff’s Department had 33 units on the radio network, including the constables and the County Patrol. Since the agency did not have a patrol function, marked units, or uniforms at this time, this was surely a step forward in deputies’ duties and responsibilities. During Sheriff Saunders’ term, bootlegging, stills, and illegal gambling kept deputies busy. While it is hard to believe that stills existed in the overcrowded county that we know today, it wasn’t always like that. Stills began during the Prohibition era and lasted in Pinellas County until the mid-1960s. Modern-day NASCAR racing is rooted in these bootlegging times, when transporters would enhance their cars to escape and outrun the pursuing police. While law enforcement officers relied on common surveillance methods and “stoolies,” who traded information for legal consideration, to locate stills, local grocers were also key informants. Although many ingredients could be grown in hidden areas, stills required a large amount of processed sugar. When a customer purchased a hefty quantity, grocers would notify law enforcement. Sheriff Saunders was also a pioneer founder of the “Sheriffs Boys Ranch,” where, today, the first cabin is named in his honor. Sheriff Saunders was the first and only Pinellas County sheriff to die during his tenure, as he succumbed to a heart attack in 1958. His chief deputy, Sheriff Donald Genung (1958-1975), finished out the term, and was later elected to the position, where he became the county’s longest serving sheriff.
Information/photos provided by PCSO Archive Historian Penny Cooke.
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While likely not as publicly acclaimed as the Rastus Russell case, Sheriff Todd Tucker’s (1941-1953) greatest achievement during his tenure was developing the budget system into what we are familiar with today.
ISSUE 4 October - December 2017
DEPARTMENT SPOTLIGHT
The School Guardian Unit If you walk into a Pinellas County elementary school, you’ll see a conspicuous man or woman wearing a bright yellow polo shirt surveying the hallways. According to Lieutenant Goodley, who oversees the School Guardian Unit, people often wonder who they are. They are the new School Safety Officers (SSO) that Sheriff Gualtieri has approved to help protect Pinellas County schools from an active assailant. The SSOs are part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, which was created by the Florida Legislature as a result of the February 14, 2018, shooting of 34 students and school staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Designed to help protect students and staff members from the threat of gun violence, the Act permits county sheriffs to establish a Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program—which was named in honor of a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School employee who lost his life protecting the students during the shooting. The Pinellas County School Board chose to participate in this program and has been working with the Sheriff’s Office Training Division to train individuals to keep school campuses safe. “The sheriff’s Office is responsible to conduct the background checks for SSO applicants prior to the sheriff’s approval, and conduct the mandatory training outlined in the law,” Lieutenant Goodley said. “Our involvement in the schools in our jurisdiction offers ongoing support to the SSOs and creates a strong relationship between the agency and the school administrators and staff”. The School Guardian Unit members work closely with school administrators and offer recommendations related to school safety in cooperation with the School Safety Administrator, also created by this new legislation. The armed SSOs, who must pass psychological and drug tests, take 176 hours of training. The five-week long training program began July 2 and started with two days of instruction on legal issues, including conceal and carry laws. Next, the guardians went through basic firearm instruction, CPR/TECC certification, defensive tactics education, and scenario-based drills designed to prepare them to respond to active assailants on school property.
“We have experience levels from retired law enforcement officers and retired military to people who had never done law enforcement or any type of firearms training before,” said PCSO Training Division Lieutenant Greg Danzig during the second week of the training program. “So this is a unique experience for us, but so far, the guardians are doing quite well.” The School Guardian Unit not only schedules monthly drills with elementary and charter schools using the plan, “Run, Hide, Fight,” but it also ensures SSO staffing is in place so that schools are never left unprotected. In addition, the unit participates in threat assessment team responses to student concerns identified by law enforcement or school staff members. The School Guardian Unit is made up of one sergeant, one corporal, and three deputies who cover the entire county. They assist each other during drills and make sure that all of the training is conducted efficiently. “Our unit is already a great team with the desire and commitment to ensure all of our students and staff are provided the best training and preparation in the event an emergency situation occurs in Pinellas County,” Lieutenant Goodley said. “They have already begun building strong professional relationships with their respective principals, and many students and their parents have begun to recognize the importance of this change and express their appreciation for our presence.” Currently, Lieutenant Goodley says that they do not expect to hire additional members for the School Guardian Unit anytime soon. The other police jurisdictions support their elementary schools. The primary focus right now is to identify the best process for the law enforcement officers and school staff so that they have consistent procedures in place to ensure the safety of all Pinellas County schools. “This adjustment is an ongoing process,” Lieutenant Goodley said. “The committee of law enforcement representatives from each police agency and PCS created what was believed to be the best and easiest means of exposing students and staff to procedures meant to save their lives, whether in a school or any other venue.”
Please let us know what you think. Is there something you want to see? Is there something you want to share? Members are invited to submit articles and color photos for publication. Photos must be high resolution. Articles and photos are subject to editing. Please email your submissions to proud@pcsonet.com.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office PAGE
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10750 Ulmerton Road, Largo, FL 33778 727-582-6200 • www.pcsoweb.com