Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly and eight members of the agency’s SWAT team are in Dubai on an all-expenses-paid trip through Feb. 14 for an international SWAT competition paid for by the UAE Interior Ministry.
Flagler County Sheriff
Flagler Jail’s Private Provider Says Its Nurses Did Nothing Wrong in Fennick’s Death–and Asks for Reimbursements
Armor Correctional Health relieved two nurses of duty at the Flagler jail at the sheriff’s request, placing them on administrative leave and asking the sheriff to pay their salaries and their replacements’ salaries.
Anthony Fennick Will Die Saturday Morning, Days After Degrading at Flagler Jail. Family Awaits Answers.
The family of Anthony Fennick, 23, will gather around him Saturday morning, when his breathing machine will be disconnected. He was brain dead after suffering days of high fevers at the Flagler jail, where his care was neglected, his family says.
Man Who Threatened to Blow Up Sheriff’s Office and Kill the Sheriff Gets 3 Years in Prison
The sentence against Raymond Crown of Palm Coast is a reflection of the vanished tolerance even in the judiciary for threats inspired by bombings or mass shootings.
Ollie North Patrols Flagler With Sheriff Staly, One of 5 Finalists for NRA’s Officer Of the Year
Oliver North, the ex-felon of Iran-Contra fame and current NRA president, was in town to film footage with Sheriff Rick Staly, one of five nominees for the NRA’s Officer of the Year Award.
Ramping Up Surveillance, Sheriff Will Have Access to Live Video and Data From 44 Palm Coast Traffic Intersections
Palm Coast government and the Flagler Sheriff’s Office are teaming up to use a “traffic-optimization” camera network at intersection as a surveillance mechanism as well.
Sheriff’s Cmdr. David Williams Appointed Palm Coast Liaison, Replacing Mark Carman
Cmdr. David Williams, who’s been with the agency since 2001, was named the liaison to Palm Coast, replacing Mark Carman, who’s to be the police chief in Crescent City.
Austin Chewning Named Flagler Deputy of the Year as Gala Raises $77,000 for Sheriff’s Employee Assistance
Austin Chewning, Sheria Woods, Kerri Anderson and Angela Camit were among the year’s winners at a gala to raise money for sheriff’s employees facing unexpected hardships.
County Commission Steps Back From Creating Sheriff’s Building ‘Task Force,’ Opting
For More Workshops
The Flagler County Commission today took no more decisive action on the Sheriff’s Operations Center than to hold more workshop sometime in the future, though none was scheduled.
Beyond Coffey: Alternate Locations Emerge for Sheriff’s Operations Center as Calls to Abandon Troubled Building Mount
A 20,000 square-foot building built to attract new business and industry is one of the options for the sheriff’s operations center as the sheriff, employees and at least two county commissioners don’t see a path back into the troubled Operations Center anymore.
Changing Position, Key Commissioner Says Sheriff’s Building is Not Repairable and Calls For New HQ Elsewhere
Flagler County Commissioner Dave Sullivan says he won’t spend another nickel on the sick Sheriff’s Operations Center and calls for building a new structure somewhere else.
Cuts Into Sheriff Building’s Structure Point to Alarming Issues, Including Bat Droppings and “Substantial Moisture”
Two days of testing and cuts into walls and floors at the troubled Sheriff’s Operations Center are adding to a tally of concerns, with revelations of old wood and insulation, bat droppings and widespread floor moisture.
Mark Carman, Affable Face of Policing in Palm Coast For 20 Years, Is Leaving To Be Crescent City Chief
Mark Carman, 57, spent 31 years at the Flagler Sheriff’s Office and 20 heading the Palm Coast precinct and as liaison. He’ll be taking the Crescent City Police Chief’s job come February.
With Judge’s Help, Sheriff’s Insurance Carrier Corners Employees Over Workers’ Comp Claims as Fate of Building Looms
Some 30 Flagler County Sheriff’s employees have been in a dispiriting battle with their own agency’s insurance carrier and the judge ruling on their workers’ compensation claims, portending little hope that they may prevail.
Jeffrey Foust, 11, Donates Year’s Allowance to Flagler Deputies in His Cop Father’s Memory
Jeffrey Foust, 11, bought 54 gift cards worth $600 to donate to 54 Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies, most of whom paid them forward at the Christmas With a Deputy event Friday.
Christmas With a Deputy Tonight: A Record $16,717 Raised For 124 Children
Christmas With a Deputy at Target this evening will feature 124 children riding in 110 police cars from Town Center to the shopping center for a Christmas spree.
Flagler-Palm Coast’s Crime Rate Falls Sharply in First 6 Months of 2018, Arrests Up 35%
The drop in crime in Flagler and Palm Coast was reflected across almost every category and the addition of 23 new deputies led to a steep rise in arrests in the first six months of 2018.
Judge Orders Sheriff’s Operations Center Tested for Toxins Again, On Behalf of Employees
Sheriff’s employees have been seeking for months to have an independent round of testing for toxins inside the troubled, evacuated Sheriff’s Operations Center. That will take place on Dec. 13.
Sheriff Staly: County Administrator ‘Destroyed Our Working Relationship and It Is
Not Recoverable’
Sheriff Rick Staly stopped just short of explicitly asking for the resignation of County Administrator Craig Coffey in an address to the County Commission, but in effect, he was calling for nothing less.
Undersheriff Jack Bisland Will Retire After 41 Years in Local, Regional and State Law Enforcement
Jack Bisland, the steady, no-drama second-in-command at the Flagler County Sheriff and a consummate cop’s cop will hang up his badge and retire as Sheriff Rick Staly’s undersheriff come February
From Surreal to Celebratory, Sheriff and Ricky Wheeler’s Mother Thank a Community For Finding Him
Sheriff Rick Staly presented commendations and certificates of appreciation to those who took part in the search that found Ricky Wheeler after he went missing five days in September.
Stepped-Up Sheriff’s Patrols, New Sex-Offender App, Candy Buy Back: Halloween Game Plans
Flagler sheriff’s personnel will be conducting heavy patrols and providing crossing assistance at critical points for Halloween, the FDLE has a new safety app, and Flagler Dental is doing candy buy-back for 10 days afterward.
Flagler Sheriff’s Kershaw and Sabatini Win National Award For Bridging Gap Between Cops and Citizens
Brittany Kershaw and Shannon Sabatini of the sheriff’s public affairs office were recognized for a series of videos intended to bridge the agency’s ranks with the community.
Validating Mold Fears, CDC Points to ‘Water Intrusion’ And Calls For Look Behind Walls at Sheriff’s Operations Center
An interim CDC report on the sheriff’s possibly sick operations center appears to vindicates fears that mold may be growing behind walls and within the building’s “envelope.”
Sheriff Staly Must Testify on His Own ‘Prejudicial’ Language in Cooley Case as Judge Upholds Subpoena
It is the most striking development yet in the high-profile domestic-violence case against Flagler Beach Commissioner Eric Cooley, roping in the sheriff in unexpected ways. He is fighting the subpoena.
Flagler Ready to Pay $1 Million To Fix Sheriff’s Building? Bogus Claim, County Says
County Commission Candidate Dennis McDonald says Commissioner Dave Sullivan told him it would take $1 million to fix the Operations Center, a claim Sullivan says is false.
Three Suicides Averted in 2 Days As 911 Dispatchers and Deputies Defuse Chilling Situations
Over the weekend, authorities converged on three suicide attempts–by gun in Flagler Beach, by hanging and by cop off a county road in western Flagler, and by knife in Palm Coast’s K-Section.
For 2nd Time in 3 Weeks Man Pulls a Gun on Flagler Deputies, But No Arrest This Time
Flagler deputies were checking on a 33-year-old man who had been reported to be suicidal (possibly falsely). He came out of his house pointing a gun at the deputies.
Racist and Bullying Behavior Leads to Firing, Retirement and Transfer of 3 Veteran Flagler Sheriff’s Deputies
Following internal investigations, Deputy Jon Freshcorn, Sgt. John Bray and Cmdr. Brian Pasquariello were all subject to discipline following a breakdown in professional conduct at the courthouse.
Sheriff Asks For Semi-Permanent Solution Away From Comatose Building As Issue May Linger Up To a Year
In a workshop initially mean to to hear the latest analysis of previous air testing, Sheriff Staly asked county government to work out a semi-permanent solution to his staff’s evacuation from the troubled Operations Center.
Flagler Jail Sends ‘Inmate Work Crew’ Around Town, and Gets Paid GED Instructor
A black-and-white-striped Flagler County jail work crew will start duties around the community, and the jail is getting a GED instructor for nearly 30 hours a week.
Low, $500 Bond For Sex Offender’s Re-Arrest Raises Sheriff’s Eyebrows–and Unravels
Bleak Case Through Court Maze
Tavares Calloway was 21 when he was charged with the statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl. Probation violations landed him in prison for 3 years. He’s been rearrested again on a violation weeks after his release.
Man, 79, Turns Himself In at Flagler Jail on Scam Warrant. It’s 6 Hours Before Deputies Figure It Out and Release Him.
Alphonso Perry was made to wait for 2 hours in a lobby and 4 hours in a holding cell before detention deputies got to his file and figured out he did not belong at the county jail.
New Review ‘Rejects’ Report Finding Sheriff’s Building Safe But Also Lays Out Steps To Re-Occupancy
Sheriff Rick Staly asked retired scientist Robert Sweeney to review previous reports on mold testing at the Operations Center, judge the work’s quality and make recommendations.
Matanzas High Launches Law and Justice Flagship, Giving Students Bridge to Cop and Legal Careers
For Matanzas, whose students often toil in the shadow of FPC, the Law and Justice flagship may right the balance with a program of equal standing with FPC’s fire academy.
Sheriff Says If It’s Up To Him, ‘I Will Be Advocating That We Never Reoccupy The Operations Center’
Sheriff Rick Staly made the startling statement in response to Commission Chairman Greg Hansen saying the decision to reoccupy will be left entirely up to Staly. But Hansen was speaking out of turn.
Sheriff Lashes Into County Administrator Over “Disregard” of Security Protocols in
Operations Center
Sheriff Rick Staly is blaming County Administrator Craig Coffey for potentially jeopardizing the sheriff’s crime-fighting by improperly sending cleaning crews through secured areas of the evacuated Operations Center.
Suspect Pulls Gun on Deputy Duenas, Who For 2nd Time in 9 Months Shows Grit and Restraint
Flagler Sheriff’s deputy Jonathon Duenas Wednesday evening was confronted with a man with a gun and immediately disarmed him, the second time in nine months Duenas faced a deadly situation he defused without harm.
CDC Experts Will Examine Sheriff’s Operations Center and Meet With Employees
After three weeks of seeming inaction on the troubled Sheriff’s Operations Center, the county has agreed to a two-day site visit from CDC experts in occupational safety and health issues.
New Back To School Normal For Flagler School Employees: How To Deal With a Mass Killer
The Flagler Auditorium today filled with 1,000 faculty members for “active shooter” or “incident survival” training through a vivid, disquieting presentation by Sheriff’s officials.
Cops Behaving Proudly: Sheriff and Flagler Beach Police Chief Sum Up Solid State of Law Enforcement
Sheriff Rick Staly and Flagler Beach Chief Matt Doughney appeared at a chamber breakfast to speak of the state of law enforcement in the county, from diminishing crime rates to improving PR.
Sheriff Staly on Operations Center: “I Will Not Tolerate Blaming Victims of This Building, My Employees”
Sheriff Rick Staly delivered a 2,000-word statement on the troubled Operations Center during Monday’s workshop on the matter. The full text is reproduced here.
Price For Sheriff’s New Palm Coast Precinct Property Drops, But Renovation Costs Soar
The county paid $832,500 for the property, $42,500 less than projected, but it will pay $230,000 to renovate, up from the $100,000 initially projected.
Combative Statements and Threats of Litigation Belie Claim of Unity Meeting on Sheriff’s Operations Center
A Flagler County Commission workshop on results of air testing at the Sheriff’s Operations Center was tense and combating as sheriff’s employees questioned the county’s sincerity.
Doubt and Mistrust From Sheriff’s Employees Against County’s ‘All Clear’ on Operations Center
Sheriff’s employees are neither ready nor willing to return to the potentially sick operations center: a report on the building’s air still doesn’t explain why 27 employees developed problems.
Challenge Accepted: Sheriff Staly Takes Up Lip-Sync Challenge With Jailhouse Rock Video
Sheriff Staly gave in and led a team of deputies and others in a lip-synced version of Elvis’s “Jailhouse Rock,” part of a lip-sync challenge sweeping across law enforcement agencies.
Issuing Report, County Says Sheriff’s Building “Deemed Safe To Occupy,” But Sheriff Raises Questions
A much-anticipated report on the air quality of the evacuate Sheriff’s Operations Center concludes that the building has no mold problem but questions remain, not least from the sheriff.
Sheriff’s Deputy Fired For Failing To Stop Car Going Wrong Way, Toward Fatal Crash on I-95
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Robert Finn passed a motorist going the wrong way on an I-95 exit ramp in April, and did not conduct a traffic stop. The motorist was killed moments later in a head-on crash.
Once a Jail Commander, 23-Year Sheriff’s Employee Is Demoted to Deputy Over Chronic Flaws
Tammy Stakes last September was a commander making over $80,000 a year. She was demoted to deputy over a series of supervisory failures and missteps.
Dennis McDonald Files to Run Against Greg Hansen as Sheriff’s Building Fuses Explosive Campaign Issue
Dennis McDonald will challenge County Commissioner Greg Hansen as an independent, with the mess surrounding the Sheriff’s Operations Center leading his decision to run.