The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) Citizen Observer Patrol (COP) Unit hosted their 2023 Awards Banquet on December 16, 2023, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Palm Coast. The banquet was led by volunteer Chief Roberson Brown, who leads the dedicated COP Unit volunteers in handling various tasks that allow sworn deputies to handle and investigate more serious crimes. The banquet was also attended by Sheriff Rick Staly and his wife Debbie, Chief Jon Welker, Chief David Williams, Commander Scott Vedder, and Commander Kenny Goncalves.
Since 2005, the COPs have volunteered approximately 260,000 hours, valued at over $4,806,000. COPs provide various services to the community like assisting with traffic control at accidents, parades, funeral escorts, and other special details. Their duties may also include child fingerprinting, passing out literature at community events, handling requests for vacation house watches, dispatching the COP vehicles, handling phone calls and walk-ins at District Offices, assisting in courthouse security, and much more.
The following awards were presented to the following Citizen Observer Patrol members:
Volunteer of the Year: COP Dispatcher Jill Dempsey
Volunteer Commander of the Year: COP Commander Robert Millett
Volunteers of the 4th Quarter:
COP Nancy Del Riego
COP Sergeant Mary Mollico
COP Sergeant Carlos Nunez
COP Sergeant Thomas Semon
Years of Service Awards:
16 Years: COP Commander Carol Oxford-Yard and COP Sr. Sergeant Paul Matarazzo
18 Years: COP Dan Lamperti
20 Years: COP Sergeant Nancy Morea
Unit Citation:
COP Traffic Crash Investigators (6 Traffic Crash Investigators handled 680 crash reports)
Support Services: COP Commander Joe Camit
COP Communications: COP Commander Oxford-Yard
Special Details: COP Commander Peter Sarni
One of the biggest achievements celebrated in 2023 was the COP Unit being awarded the International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP) Leadership in Volunteer Police Programs Award in the Comprehensive Volunteer Police Service Program. As the recipient of the IACP Leadership in Volunteer Police Programs Award, FCSO and Volunteer Chief Brown and the COP team were recognized on Tuesday, October 17th, during the closing awards banquet of the 2023 IACP Annual Conference in San Diego, CA.
“Congratulations to our incredible COP Unit for another successful year of volunteer service to the citizens of Flagler County and to the Sheriff’s Office,” said Sheriff Rick Staly. “They are an invaluable resource to us and we are glad they could gather to celebrate their achievements this past weekend.”
If you would like to join our award-winning COP volunteers, visit: https://www.flaglersheriff.com/join-fcso/volunteers.
Laurel says
Will someone please explain to me why we have COP boats on the ICW? Boats, detailing, trailers, maintenance, storage, uniforms and fuel add up to a rather large sum of money. The Florida State Sheriff’s Department has the jurisdiction for investigations. The Army Corp of Engineers has responsibility for maintenance and navigation, and approves any changes to the ICW, including docks and dredging. Being that the ICW is an east coast shipping route, exactly what authority does the COP marine volunteers have? What is the justification of the expense for this activity?
a Concerned Observer says
Well Laurel, you asked for someone to please explain “why we have cop boats on the ICW?” Please allow me to educate you. They are out there, donating their time for no pay, to help our citizens when they are lost, their boat or jet ski breaks down or in the not-too-distant past, assist in locating and recovering the body of a jet ski rider who drowned because he fell off a jet ski while recklessly jumping the wake of a large (likely speeding) boat and was not wearing a required life vest. It is too bad that the COP marine patrol didn’t happen to see that jet ski before that young man died. They may have been able to help save his life.
“The Florida State Sheriff’s Department”. The agency which the COPs devote thousands of hours monthly are a supporting unit of the “Flagler County Sheriff’s Department. Neither have any connection to the “Florida State”.
“exactly what authority does the COP marine volunteers have?” No authority at all actually. They are not sworn officers. They are not armed. They can arrest no one. They are out there, volunteering their time and experience to help the users of the ICW. Would you be surprised to learn (or even care) that some of the boat captains are Coast Guard licensed commercial vessel operators?
“What is the justification of the expense for this activity?” The only expense for this activity is the fuel they use, which is minimal when compared to the service they provide. The docking space is donated. Their boat served the Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit for years until it became evident that it was not as suitable as it needed to be and it was repurposed for use by the marine division of the Civilian Observers Patrol.
You asked for an explanation Laurel, and I hope you now have several. I also hope you now understand that the FCSO COP Marine Division is but one part a of a much larger organization of dedicated volunteers who devote thousands of hours each month to help the citizens of Flagler County and the countless tourists that so often are the recipients of their assistance.
Laurel says
Concerned: No, not really. I saw my self that it was the Sheriff’s Deputy boat that retrieved the young man’s body in the jet ski accident, not the COP. To say that if the COP boat was there, maybe they could have saved the boy’s life is a non-statement. They weren’t; they didn’t.
You wrote “The Florida State Sheriff’s Department”. The agency which the COPs devote thousands of hours monthly are a supporting unit of the “Flagler County Sheriff’s Department. Neither have any connection to the “Florida State”. I’m sure you know that The Flagler County Sheriff’s Department does not investigate accidents on the ICW. I recently witnessed one, and the Sheriff’s Dept. stated it was not their position to process, and the State (FWC) was brought in, with a “State of Florida Sheriff'” logo on the side. The Flagler County Sheriff’s COP has nothing to do with the State, it is strictly county, and again, does not investigate accidents and such.
“They are out there, volunteering their time and experience to help the users of the ICW. Would you be surprised to learn (or even care) that some of the boat captains are Coast Guard licensed commercial vessel operators?” Two things: 1.) Boat US and Sea Tow are available to help boat breakdowns, and 2.) was it really necessary to add “…(or even care)…” to your comment? I am concerned about the taxpayer’s dollar, and what I have seen asks the question of the necessity of the COP boat.
“The only expense for this activity is the fuel they use, which is minimal when compared to the service they provide. The docking space is donated.” So, that’s the only expense in operating a boat? There’s no maintenance involved? I always heard the two happiest days for a boat owner, was the day he bought it, and the day he sold it. Boats are not cheap.
There is nothing wrong with volunteering. We need volunteers! The COP cars are available to help support the Sheriff’s Department. The boats, not so much.
Laurel says
Allow me to add a couple of things. I am not condemning volunteers. That was an unreasonable distraction. Also, I do care and that’s why I am commenting here. I wish there was real, good monitoring on the ICW.
Sadly, Flagler County has no inlet, so there is no where to go out to the ocean until one travels to another county. The Matanzas Inlet, the closest inlet, is a natural inlet in St. Johns County, and not really navigable to the ocean for the vast majority of boats. So the ICW is the main playground for residents instead of the coastal shipping route it is intended to be.
Any weekend, and all summer long, there is boating behavior that would not be tolerated in South Florida. Heck, even in the Everglades, the FWC seem to drop out of nowhere if there is a possible regulation broken. When people come to visit us, from both South Florida and Jacksonville, they are astounded and ask us how the raucous behavior is allow here. Just yesterday, on a calm, quiet day, I watched a party boat (pontoon) go by with a minimum of 15 people on it. I’m talking people stuffed in like sardines, sitting shoulder to shoulder around the whole boat. People ignore, or don’t learn, boating regulations, and no one is around to enforce them. Boats with one, two, three and four motors, and large boats with powerful inboard motors zing by at top speeds, passing each other, with wakes splashing up on docks and yards, they’re so high. Jet skies cross back and forth over these wakes. It’s a total free for all, with very little safety in mind.
The ICW is a very narrow channel through most of Flagler County, and at low tide, it’s even narrower. There is concern here, and I know that wake speed is going to be considered by the proper authorities which is a good thing, and extremely necessary with the unbelievable population boom.
I do care. I would like to see this channel monitored, with legal authority, throughout the county. To me, the COP boats are not what we need, not having the authority to monitor.