Sheriff’s Sam Cooper Jr. Honored for Junior Police Academy and ROTC Work at Flagler Schools

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office honored three employees Wednesday (July 27) for their exemplary work as Civilian Employee or Deputy of the Second Quarter.

Deputy of the Quarter was awarded to School Resource Deputy Sam Cooper Jr. for his work with area youth in three different areas. He reinvigorated the Junior Police Academy, an after-school program at Indian Trails Middle School. The program, which began in 2012, had dwindled after a strong first year. But thanks to Deputy Cooper’s dedication, the program was reintroduced at Indian Trails and had 11 participants this school year. The youth involved in this program have learned important team-building skills and also the value of serving one’s community and taking personal responsibility.

Besides teaching the students about law enforcement, Cooper coordinated with the Junior ROTC instructor at Matanzas High School to instruct them on leadership, Army Corp values, land navigation as well as drill and ceremony. This also provided students with a valuable program to pursue when they enter high school.

Also this school year, Cooper took the initiative to coordinate with the Flagler Sheriff’s Office Police Athletic League (PAL) and school officials to establish a track team at Indian Trails Middle School. When track season began in February 2016, the team took off at a steady 21 participants. Under his guidance, the team competed against other middle school teams and participated in eight of nine track meets held regionally.

Cooper has served as a school resource deputy at Indian Trails for five years. He joined the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office in January 2001.

Detention Deputy of the Quarter was awarded to deputy Julio Vazquez, who works at the Flagler County jail. Vazquez has been part of the new jail transition team and has been responsible for helping to implement safety guidelines that he learned while working for the Florida Department of Corrections. He has also been part of instructing jail staff in the operations of the new building, ensuring a successful transition and safer work environment. Vazquez joined the agency in June 2009.

Civilian Employee of the Quarter was awarded to Communications Specialist Candice Cole for her work in the Communications
Center. On May 11, 2016, Specialist Cole was given a missing person report to enter into the state and national databases. Through a series of inquiries and using all of her resources, she tracked the man through an agency in New York and determined he was with family and was safe. Specialist Cole went above and beyond her duties to locate the missing adult. Her timely
response and dedication to the call ensured that this person was found quickly and removed from the national database.
She joined the Sheriff’s Office in June 2011.