The sheriff’s letter to the county commission chairman echoes the same urgency and call for action that the sheriff used just over a year ago to compel the county to provide a healthier space for employees than the troubled Operations Center.
rick staly
Flagler County Crime Falls 20%, Steepest Drop in Decades and Almost 3 Times Larger Than Florida Average
Flagler County’s crime index in 2018 fell by 20.2 percent, by far the largest year-over-year drop in at least 18 years, and a decline almost three times the 7.4 percent drop in crime across Florida over the same period.
To Sue or Not to Sue: County Wrestles With Sheriff’s Space Needs at Courthouse
Despite a county commission vote ordering its administration to find more space for the sheriff at the county courthouse, the county administrator and the county attorney have demurred.
County Calms Bunnell’s Anger Over Sheriff’s Move to Palm Coast, Disarming Threats of Lawsuit
Sheriff Rick Staly’s and County Manager Jerry Cameron’s joint appearance before the Bunnell City Commission on Monday went a significant distance to disarm the city’s threats of a lawsuit and calm its anger over the sheriff’s move to Palm Coast.
County Orders Space Reallocation For Sheriff at Courthouse; ‘We’re Going to Stand Our Ground,’ Bexley Says
The County Commission acting as landlord is directing its administrator to come up with the necessary additional space for the sheriff at the courthouse, where Clerk Tom Bexley says it’s useless to try.
Sheriff’s Precinct on Utility Drive? Palm Coast Explores Bailing Out County’s Search for Space
City, county and sheriff’s officials spent Thursday exploring various buildings, among them Palm Coast’s Utility Department building off Old Kings Road, as potential sites for the sheriff’s Palm Coast precinct.
An Inside Look at Sheriff’s Confidential Weekly ‘Crimemaps’ Strategy Planning With Command Staff
Every Wednesday, the sheriff and his command and other top staffers meet to map out the coming week’s crime-fighting focuses, analyzing trends, hot spots and raw intelligence. This week, reporters were invited to witness the session.
Tom Bexley: There Really Is No More Room For Sheriff’s Operations in the Courthouse
Flagler County Clerk of Court Tom Bexley, weighing in on the space issues with sheriff’s operations at the courthouse, says clerk operations would be fragmented and jeopardized if further accommodations were made.
Photographic Tour of Courthouse Illustrates Crunch and Tensions Between Sheriff and Clerk Staffs
Here’s the first detailed, photographic illustration of the space issues the sheriff, the clerk and county officials have been wrestling with over the past months at the county courthouse as the three sides try to reach an understanding on future space use.
Joe Mullins Wants Cities and the County to Draft Homeless ‘Legislation,’ But He’s ‘Out on a Limb’
Flagler County Commissioner Joe Mullins is pressing the county administrator to develop an ordinance regulating homeless panhandling and tent-pitching with city managers, but none of the local governments other than Bunnell have discussed such policies.
County Considers Nuclear Option: Forcing Clerk To Cede Space to Sheriff at Courthouse
With Clerk of Court Tom Bexley and Sheriff Rick Staly at an impasse over space needs at the courthouse, commissioners are raising the possibility that they will force Bexley to give ground.
Bunnell Panics as Emerging Options for Sheriff’s New Operations Building Include Palm Coast Library Site and Town Center
Without evidence, Bunnell officials fear talk of moving the sheriff’s operations center out of the city is a first step toward moving the county seat to Palm Coast, and see the move as illegal.
Flagler Jail Inmates Among Work Crews That Cleaned Up Homeless Camp Near Public Library
The Flagler jail’s “Inmate Work Crew” launched last summer and has been used at about a dozen county-owned facilities, its work valued at the equivalent of $75,000 that would otherwise have had to be paid with tax dollars.
Deadline Comes and Goes And Still No Breakthrough on Alternative to Sheriff’s Operations Center
A month ago the Flagler County Commission agreed to a 15-day deadline to come up with a compromise on interim space for the Sheriff’s Operations Center, when the sheriff and the clerk of court were not agreeing on using courthouse space to that end. The deadline has long lapsed, with no new proposal on the table.
Sheriff Fires Armor, Jail Health Provider at Center of Anthony Fennick’s Death, and Institutes Immediate Changes
Sheriff Rick Staly is firing Armor Correctional Health and instituting a series of measures at the jail making family-inmate contact easier in critical times, and information more readily accessible.
Employees Will Sue Sheriff Over Sick Operations Center, and the Sheriff Is All For It
The law firm representing 27 Flagler sheriff’s employees served the sheriff notice of a lawsuit for negligence over the Operations Center, a move Sheriff Rick Staly is supporting.
An Angry Tom Bexley Freezes County’s Attempt To Cede 1st Floor of Courthouse to Sheriff
Clerk of Court Tom Bexley was angered by a sheriff’s proposal, which the county would have had to approve, to use the first floor of the courthouse for the foreseeable future as the sheriff’s exile from the Operations Center continues.
Anthony Fennick’s Death and The Sheriff’s Green Roof Inn Smear
Much is unknown in the death of inmate Anthony Fennick, but much is known, including the sheriff’s responsibility for hiring trouble-ridden Armor Health–and for showing inmates contempt from the outset with his “Green Roof Inn” sign.
Dubai, a Police State, Hosts Flagler Sheriff, 8 Deputies and 60 Other Teams in SWAT Competition
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.
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.
Sheriff’s Sick Building: How To Hire A Savior
To break out of its leadership lethargy on the future of the Sheriff’s Operations Center, Flagler County government should find an obsessively independent project manager untainted by local politics or current administrations.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Craig Coffey Isn’t Fired, But Meeting Is Set to Decide His Fate As Sheriff and Others
Blister His Management
Though Commissioner Joe Mullins’s motion to fire Craig Coffey failed, the commission unanimously approved setting a Jan. 14 meeting to discuss his possible firing.
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.
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.”
Memories of Heartbreak, Triumph and Farewells at Flagler’s 32nd Drug Court Graduation
Circuit Judge Dennis Craig returned to preside over Flagler’s drug court graduation for the last time and saw goodbye to 11-year coordinator and tough cop Mike Greenier.
Claiming Judge Moore-Stens “Abused” Her Discretion, Sheriff Staly Appeals to Circuit Court for Stay on Subpoena
Sheriff Staly and his office in a flurry of legal moves today attempted to quash a subpoena that would have him testify Thursday in Flagler Beach Commissioner Eric Cooley’s case of alleged domestic violence.
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.
Attorney Calls For Gag Order on Sheriff Staly in Eric Cooley Case, Claiming Prejudicial Words
Palm Coast Attorney Josh Davis wants a court to muzzle Sheriff Rick Staly in the case of alleged domestic violence involving Flagler Beach City Commissioner Eric Cooley. The sheriff is having none of it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Grim Flagler Milestone in 2017: Most Suicides In County’s History, Highest Rate in Florida
There were 31 suicides in Flagler-Palm Coast in 2017, five more than the previous high, a third of them affecting people 45 to 54. The county’s rate is significantly higher than the average in states most severely affected by suicide.
Sheriff Staly and 2 Deputies Pull Guns on Suspects at End of I-95 Chase That Reached 100 MPH
Tavarius Stokes, 23, had allegedly pulled a gun on the mother of his child in Bunnell and was wanted on a warrant when Sheriff Rick Staly joined the chase and was part of apprehending Stokes and another man today.
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.
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.
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 Office Completes Evacuation as Length of Nomadic Exile Remains Uncertain
The Flagler Sheriff’s Office completed its relocation to the courthouse and its old administrative building pending analysis of the potentially sick operations center.
Sheriff’s Operations Center Will Evacuate To Courthouse and Old Administration Building
The move out of the troubled building began as testing is scheduled in mid-June, but an environmental engineer cautions against expectations of black-and-white answers.
Ex-Sheriff Jim Manfre on Troubled Operations Center: How We Got Here
Former Sheriff Jim Manfre, who completed his term in 2016, offers his side of the history of the acquisition of and subsequent issues with the potentially sick Sheriff’s Operations Center.