When a 12-year-old student on his way to school this morning noticed a raccoon stuck in a tree on Palm Coast’s Florida Park Drive, deputies were called in, and as Animal Control would not respond, deputy Bret Wood used a car jack to pry the imprisoning branches apart and free the raccoon.
Flagler County Sheriff
Gentle Warning Beep as Flagler’s $10 Million Emergency Radio System Approaches Its End
It’s less than eight years since Flagler spent $10 million to upgrade its county-wide communications to an 800 MHz system, to which some 1,500 radios from police, fire, municipal and county agencies are attached. That system is set to reach its official life’s end in 2017, requiring county government to start now to examine how it will replace it, and how it’ll pay for the replacement.
Sheriff’s Cruiser in T-Bone Wreck That Injures 1 on Palm Coast Parkway and Pine Lakes
A man was hospitalized with minor injuries after his SUV struck a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy’s cruiser at Palm Coast Parkway and Pine Lakes Parkway at 10 a.m. Thursday. The deputy, James Gore, was not injured.
Bikers’ Memorial: Second Annual Sgt. Frank Celico Fun Run Set For Oct. 27
The fund-raiser of the Frank Celico Memorial Foundation raises money to buy bikes and helmets for children who can;t afford them. The $20 donation includes lunch at the White Eagle in Korona, on U.S. 1. Registration begins at the Elks Lodge at 9 a.m. The ride begins at 10:30 a.m., with a police-escorted course to the White Eagle. The event is sponsored by The Blue Knights of Florida.
A 2-Year-Old’s Life Saved and a Murder Suspect’s Arrest Headline Sheriff’s 3rd Quarter Awards
Communications Supervisor Genice Caccavale was one of three department employees to win Employee of the Quarter awards, Sheriff Jim Manfre announced this week. Also winning were Detective Mark Moy and Detention Deputy Randy Vickers.
CSI Flagler: Sheriff Launches Crime Lab and Inks $75,000 Deal With Private DNA Lab
Anticipating the day when FDLE’s crime labs will not be as readily accessible, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is investing in a crime scene investigator of its own, a mobile CSI unit, and a $75,000 annual contract with DNA Labs International, a private company, to more aggressively use DNA testing in property crimes.
Flagler’s Public Safety Council Endorses Court-Ordering Ex-Felons to Evangelical Recovery House
The council—a collection of local police, court and other government agencies—provided the endorsement sight unseen and legalities untested, and based exclusively on a brief presentation by Charles Silano, the local pastor. Open Door Re-Entry and Recovery Ministry will be run out of a former church on Booe Street in Bunnell.
Town Hall Road Show: Residents Grill 4 Local Governments’ Heads in Freewheeling Forum
A 90-minute town hall forum brought some 50 people to the Palm Coast Community Center to grill and hear Flagler County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin, Flagler Sheriff Jim Manfre, School Board Chairman Andy Dance, and Palm Coast City Council member Jason DeLorenzo address a long list of public concerns in a rare and informal cross-agency discussion.
Sheriff Defends Not Filing Report After His Department Car Is Scraped in Out-of-State Personal Trip
When Flagler Sheriff Jim Manfre took his department-issued Dodge Charger to Virginia to see family in August, the car was scraped while parked, requiring $250 to $350 in repairs. No incident report was filed. A local shop did the repairs for free, outside the county’s bidding process, though Manfre had reported it to fleet management.
Ex-Bunnell Police Chief Jeff Hoffman Sworn in as Sheriff’s Chief Deputy
Senior Commander Jeff Hoffman will oversee the agencies Neighborhood Services Division, the largest within the Sheriff’s Office, essentially filling the chief deputy’s role previously occupied by Paul Bovino, who’s on medical leave, and David O’Brien, who was forced top resign earlier this year.
Sheriff Fires Roster for “Job Abandonment,” Capping 14 Months of Turmoil for Deputy
Roster, who joined the Sheriff’s Office in 2001, rose to the rank of Sergeant and was the agency’s 2010 officer of the year, was the subject of an internal affairs investigation triggered by men in his own squad last year, who claimed he was collecting thousands of dollars for time he wasn’t actually working.
Accused of Abusing a 4-Year-Old Boy With a Belt in April, He’s Arrested Only Wednesday
Luis Betancourt-Rodriguez was charged with child abuse after allegedly hitting a 4-year-old with a belt buckle in April, and with aggravated battery after allegedly striking a man in the face and causing him to almost lose his vision in one eye, but Betancourt-Rodriguez was not arrested until a traffic stop on Wednesday that revealed two arrest warrants.
Sheriff Manfre Drafts the Press to Fight The Bogus Epidemic of Fake Pot
The bogus drug-bust news conference was a specialty of former Sheriff Don Fleming, as it has been for innumerable police agencies since the dawn of Nixon;s war on drugs since 1971. Last week, Sheriff Jim Manfre unfortunately joined the parade, this time amplifying fears of a fake epidemic of fake pot.
Sheriff Trumpets Bi-County Synthetic Pot Bust, But Inaccuracies About “Epidemic” Abound
Some 80 cops fanned out Thursday in Flagler and St. Johns to arrest 11 individuals allegedly involved in the synthetic pot trade, charging five of them under the severe racketeering law, but in an orchestrated news conference at the sheriff’s office in the afternoon, officials inaccurately hyped the synthetic marijuana problem with little evidence to boot.
In Another Major Shakeup, Sheriff Hires Bunnell’s Police Chief and Fires 3 Lieutenants
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre Monday said Bunnell Police Chief Jeff Hoffman will be his patrol division’s senior commander, replacing Paul Bovino, while long-time sheriff’s lieutenants Greg Weston, Lynne Catoggio and Steven Birdsong were fired effective today.
In a Surprising Shift, County Commission Finds Money for 2 Jail-Diversion Programs After All
Flagler County commissioners Thursday evening agreed to take on a $100,000 mental-health jail diversion program previously paid for by the state, and a $60,000 pre-trial release program they had opposed in earlier workshops. Both shifts took place during a hearing devoted to approving next year’s tax property rate.
County Rejects Roma Court for Sheriff’s Office as “Unworkable,” Citing 10 Issues
County Administrator Craig Coffey ended the Roma Court option’s prospects with a 10-point memo listing a series of structural and logistical concerns about the 57,000 square-foot property on Palm Coast Parkway, about half of which would have been leased to the county for the sheriff’s uses in a 15-year arrangement.
Nickel and Diming County Foregoes Program That Would Have Reduced Jail Population
The Flagler County judge and sheriff had supported a proposed pre-trial release program that would have kept low-grade, non-violent offenders out of jail, saving them money in the short term and the county money in the long term, but the county commission eliminated the proposal as part of a $400,000 cut from next year’s budget proposal.
In God’s Name: Polk Sheriff Grady Judd, a Modern-Day Comstock, Is Elected State Sheriffs Association President
Grady Judd is known for his colorful language and controversial quotes, sometimes evoking Anthony Comstock, the head of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice in the late 1800s, as he crusades against sex and porn and brandishes god’s name at every opportunity.
Cool to Sudden Roma Court Proposal, Flagler Sheriff Restates Preferences for Proximity
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre was surprised by an unexpected proposal from the owner of Roma Court, the chronically vacant strip mall on Palm Coast Parkway, to lease the building to the county for sheriff’s operations, and cited several factors that fall outside his preferred options.
Steve Cole Will Head Sheriff’s Investigative Division While Still Overseeing School Cops
Steve Cole, formerly a lieutenant and now a commander, was appointed head of the investigative division–in place of Jack Bisland– overseeing 16 investigators and 11 other people, including six school deputies, whose day-to-day duties will be overseen by Cpl. Don Apperson.
Sold: County Commission Votes 4-1 To Buy $1.23 Million Hospital in Bunnell for Sheriff
After some anguish, a lot of analysis and, on Thursday, a pair of meetings adding up to nearly five hours, the Flagler County Commission approved buying the old 60,000 square foot Memorial hospital, ending four years of wrangling over where, when and how to move the sheriff to a more central location.
Dispelling Rumors, Bunnell’s Armando Martinez Says He’s Not Running for Sheriff Against Manfre
Both Flagler Sheriff Jim Manfre and Bunnell Manager Armando Martinez had heard the rumor that Martinez was preparing to run against Manfre, a friend, for sheriff come 2016. After a meeting with Manfre Wednesday, Martinez categorically said that will not happen.
A Tearful, Grateful Encounter Between 911 Operator and Grandmother Coached Through CPR of 2-Year-Old
Flagler County 911 operator Genice Caccavale rarely knows the aftermath of emergency calls. Today, she got to meet Alicia Fennell and 2-year-old Kelisa Bailey, whom Fennell brought back from a near-drowning Saturday as she followed Caccavale’s CPR instructions over the phone.
Flagler 911 Operator Genice Caccavale in Remarkable Drowning Rescue of 2-Year-Old by Phone
2-year-old Kelisa Bailey was visiting her grandmother Alicia Fennell late Saturday afternoon when she briefly ended up in a pool and stopped breathing. Fennell brought her back to life as she followed the instructions of 911 operator Genice Caccavale.
Sheriff: Violence Not Expected in Flagler Reaction to Trayvon Martin Verdict, But Cops Preparing Anyway
As the jury may begin deliberating Friday in George Zimmerman’s murder trial of Trayvon Martin, state and local law enforcement agencies, including Flagler’s police forces, have been coordinating a response to potentially violent reactions to the verdict.
Sheriff Swears In 6 New Deputies, Among them Lashbrook of Flagler Beach and Hristakopoulos of Bunnell
George Hristakopoulos in Bunnell and Dennis Lashbrook in Flagler Beach built long records patrolling the two cities’ streets. The six new deputies don’t increase the total number of deputies working at the sheriff’s office.
Flagler District Shelves School-Cop Posting in All Elementaries, Reverting to Previous Plan
Not expecting another case of a parent privately paying for a school cop, the Flagler County School Board Tuesday evening gave its approval to the district’s new contract with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office to provide six school resource deputies at high and middle schools only, and seven crossing guards, for the duration of the school year.
Sheriff Says Conversation With Flagler Beach Manager on Key Police Changes “Never Happened”
Flagler Beach City Manager Bruce Campbell told his city commission last week that Sheriff Manfre and Bunnell City Manager Armando Martinez had no problems with Campbell’s proposal to eliminate the police and fire chiefs’ positions. Martinez and Manfre dispute that, with Manfre sternly saying that he never had a conversation about the changes with Campbell.
Flagler County’s Rescuers Take Flight in Tactical Operations Training Over Intracoastal
Ten members of Flagler County Fire Rescue and five Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies jumped out of Fire Flight up to five times each today in a rescue training operation at Bings Landing and over the Intracoastal that will vastly enhance water-rescue capabilities in offshore emergencies.
Planning for Flagler’s Future, County Talks Library Repairs, New Fire Station and Jail
Expanding an overcrowded county jail, building a modern new sheriff’s operations center, upgrading an inadequate drainage system as urbanization changes the rural character of Flagler and improving fire and emergency medical response west of U.S. 1 were featured in the first of four strategic-planning sessions by the county commission Thursday.
Sheriff Manfre Declares in Favor of June 7 School Tax Referendum
Citing the benefits of a longer school day and deputies in elementary schools, Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre issued a statement Monday afternoon in support of the June 7 tax referendum proposing to increase property taxes to support programs in the school district.
Fleming Farewell: Flagler Crime Rate Falls to Lowest Level in 12 Years in Ex-Sheriff’s Last
In Flagler, crime declined in every major category except robberies (up by one), including overall domestic violence, though domestic aggravated assaults account for half the county’s total. The crime in Florida hit a 42-year low, with falling crime continuing despite the bad economy.
Sheriff Opens Palm Coast Precinct at City Market Place, Halving Cost, Not Space Needs
On Friday, the Sherif’s Office office opened its newest Palm Coast precinct, at City Market Place, a two-storefront 2,600-square foot space at $2,.000 a month that’ll add new life to the struggling shopping center in the heart of town, and a few doors down from the Palm Coast city offices.
“In the Line of Duty”: Fallen Officers Are Remembered in Annual Ceremony
“What is the meaning of ‘In the line of duty?’,” Rick Staly, Flagler County’s undersheriff, said during his brief remarks at the annual commemoration of fallen law enforcement officers at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office this morning, before describing the meaning of ultimate sacrifice.
Ahead of National Police Week, A Sheriff Remembers That Knock at the Door
Commemorating National Police Week in May, Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre remembers his first memory of law enforcement, when he was 7 years old and a police officer knocked at the family home’s door to report his father’s accident with a drunk driver.
County Is Negotiating Acquisition of Old Hospital in Bunnell for New Sheriff’s HQ
Memorial Hospital Flagler’s dead years may be over if its current owners, who are politically well connected locally, can agree on a sales deal to Flagler County. The property is listed for sale at $1.75 million. It was acquired in 2006 for $750,000.
When Deputies Shoot Animals: An Explanation from the Flagler Sheriff’s Office
Responding to a citizen’s concerns, Commander Paul Bovino of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office explains why deputies sometimes shoot animals that are reported sick or injured, and why they don’t take them away in their patrol cruisers.
Dear Sheriff Manfre: Why Are Deputies So Quick to Shoot Animals–and Leave Them?
A sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a raccoon found to be sickly in Palm Coast’s R-Section this morning, leaving it in a lot, triggering a letter of concern from a resident to Sheriff Manfre about a routine practice among local law enforcement in the disposition of ailing animals.
Murders, Errant Planes, Firings, Crashing Deputies: Sheriff Eulogizes 78-Day Mark
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre hasn’t closed out his first 100 days on the job. In appearances before local groups, he’s explained his department’s new direction, spoken of the murders on his watch, and taken a candid stance on gun control.
Flagler Sheriff’s Corrections Deputy Deemed At Fault in T-Bone Crash on US1 and SR100
Sandy Gay, a corrections deputy with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, was on her way to work Thursday morning when, according to police and a witness at the scene, she blew a red light at the intersection of State Road 100 and U.S. 1 and slammed into a two-door Ford driven by Paul Salvador, a local wrecker company’s employee. Gay and Salvador were taken to Florida Hospital Flagler.
No Drones Over Flagler, Sheriff Pledges, as He Details 16 Arrests from Latest Drug Sweep
Sheriff Jim Manfre said he won’t seek to arm the Flagler Sheriff’s Office with surveillance drones, remarks he made in the context of a sweep of drug-dealing suspects arrested Tuesday following a two-month investigation based on surveillance and residents’ tips.
“Rising Star” Paul Bovino Is Appointed Commander of Flagler Sheriff’s Patrol Division
Paul Bovino was appointed permanent commander of the Neighborhood Services Division, formerly known as the patrol division, in place of David O’Brien, who was given the choice of either being fired or retiring in the messy culmination of a re-organization that had initially cast O’Brien among the management team.
Ronn Rauber, 20-Year Flagler Sheriff’s Veteran, Arrested on Domestic Battery Charge
Ron Rauber, 42, was arrested by a fellow-deputy Sunday evening after his ex-wife Amanda Kaznocha said he’d pinned her to the wall during an argument in front of the couple’s three young children.
Responding to ACLU, Manfre Restores His Own More Permissive Jail Mail Policy
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre has rescinded a policy that for the last two years, under Sheriff Don Fleming, prohibited inmates at the county jail from receiving letters at all, or writing letters longer than two pages.
Back from a Limb, Ray Stevens “Distances” Himself from November’s Manfre Endorsement
Republican Ray Stevens says he would not have endorsed Democrat Jim Manfre in November had he known that firings were on the way. Manfre himself defended his actions as necessary, while thanking Stevens for his opinions.
Sheriff’s Ex-PIO Files Sex Discrimination Grievance Over 35% Pay Cut and Demotion
Sheriff Manfre had hired Debra Johnson as his public information officer in 2001, only to demote her to assistant PIO and cut her pay in January, triggering one in a series of grievances in a mounting backlash against the new sheriff’s aggressive remaking of the agency.
Sheriff Manfre Fires David O’Brien 2 Months After Short-Listing Him for Undersheriff
The latest of numerous shocks to roil the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office in the last two months was also a stunning turnaround for O’Brien, 49, who was appointed Manfre’s chief deputy during Manfre’s first tenure as Flagler County Sheriff a decade ago.
ACLU Sues Sheriff Manfre Over Jail Policy Restricting Incoming Mail to Postcards
Beginning in January 2011 under Sheriff Don Fleming, inmates at the Flagler County jail have been forbidden from receiving mail other than small postcards, or from writing letters longer than two pages. Judges have generally not endorsed the restrictions, which also apply to inmates awaiting trial, who are presumed innocent.
Flagler School Board Approves Posting Cops at All Elementary Schools Through Year’s End
The doubling of cops to cover all of Flagler County’s 11 public schools would bring the total school-cop program cost to between $1 million and $1.2 million. The district’s share would be less than half, but would still require dipping into savings–or cutting programs–because the district has no money budgeted for additional security.