8
~~~ Shawn Boorman is 1999 FSA Deputy Sheril of the Year Each year, FSA canvasses all 67 sheriff's offices across the state- and seeks nominations for our annual deputy sheriff of the year award. This year was again a banner year for nominations there were at least a half-dozen nominees who could have easily won the award, and no one would have questioned their being chosen, But, as you know, the awards committee can pick only one, and have we got an interesting story to tell you about the person who is the winner this year. Probably the easiest way to tell you about him is in the style of radio broadcaster Paul Harvey. You all are familiar with how Harvey lays the groundwork for his final punchline by telling you the background first, and then he tells you what he calls, "the rest of the story. " Well, the first part of our story begins in 1994. A young man by the name of Shawn Boorman is living in Martin County. Counted among his fishing buddies and friends are the soils of his local sheriff, Bob Crowder. Boorman approached Sheriff Crowder one day and basically says, "You know me as a friend to your fam- ily, but what you may not know is that I have a strong desire to make law enforcement my chosen career and then asks, "If I get accepted and make it through the police academy, would you consider hiring me?" Sheriff Crowder told him that he had enough confidence in him, and that if he made it through the academy, he' d be proud to hire him as a deputy. Shawn enrolled in the next acad- emy class at Indian River Community College. By the end of the academy class, Shawn had done an exemplary job in academics, and he was just about tops in the class in the physical agility requirements that are set forth for all candidates as well. Overall, Shawn was widely recognized as the leader of the group by his fellow police academy classmates. Holding true to his promise, Sheriff Crowder hired Shawn Boorman and assigned him to uniform patrol. Within the first few months in patrol, it became evident to his supervisors that Boorman was going to be one of those deputies that was destined for greatness. Continued from page 2

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Page 1: Boorman is Sheril - Florida Sheriffs Association_VOL_10,_NO_1,_2000.pdfers went to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, to complete an all-day 100-mile bicycle ride through the mountains in the name

~ ~ ~

Shawn Boormanis 1999FSADeputy Sherilof the Year

Each year, FSA canvasses all 67sheriff's offices across the state-and seeks nominations for ourannual deputy sheriff of the yearaward.

This year was again a banneryear for nominations there were atleast a half-dozen nominees whocould have easily won the award,and no one would have questionedtheir being chosen,

But, as you know, the awardscommittee can pick only one, andhave we got an interesting story totell you about the person who is thewinner this year.

Probably the easiest way to tellyou about him is in the style of radiobroadcaster Paul Harvey.

You all are familiar with howHarvey lays the groundwork forhis final punchline by telling youthe background first, and then hetells you what he calls, "the rest ofthe story. "

Well, the first part of our storybegins in 1994. A young man by thename of Shawn Boorman is living inMartin County. Counted among hisfishing buddies and friends are thesoils ofhis local sheriff, Bob Crowder.

Boorman approached SheriffCrowder one day and basically says,

"You know me as a friend to your fam-ily, but what you may not know is that Ihave a strong desire to make lawenforcement my chosen career —andthen asks, "IfI get accepted and makeit through the police academy, wouldyou consider hiring me?"

Sheriff Crowder told him that hehad enough confidence in him, and thatif he made it through the academy, he' dbe proud to hire him as a deputy.

Shawn enrolled in the next acad-emy class at Indian River CommunityCollege. By the end of the academyclass, Shawn had done an exemplaryjob in academics, and he was just about

tops in the class in the physicalagility requirements that are setforth for all candidates as well.

Overall, Shawn was widelyrecognized as the leader of thegroup by his fellow police academyclassmates. Holding true to hispromise, Sheriff Crowder hiredShawn Boorman and assigned himto uniform patrol.

Within the first few months inpatrol, it became evident to hissupervisors that Boorman was goingto be one of those deputies that wasdestined for greatness.

Continued from page 2

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Continued from page I

In fact, despite working in uni-form division where working drugs onany regular basis is nearly impossi-ble, Boorman rose to the challengeand thrived on combating drugs inhis assigned patrol zone.

Boorman worked midnight shiftin the most drug-riddled areas ofMartin County, and took advantage ofthe quiet time between calls to sur-veil drug users and drug dealers.

Once he had enough to make thecase, Boorman would bail out of hispatrol car and chase down the sus-pects to make the arrest. His arrestrecord on drugs was so remarkablethat there was a noticeable decreasein drug trafficking in the areas inwhich he worked.

In January 1998, Shawn Boor-man applied for, and was selected tobecome a community policing deputy.Once in the unit, he requested anassignment to a neighborhood that, inprior years, was almost impossible topenetrate.

Shawn's consistent visual pres-ence, coupled with his fair and hon-est enforcement of the law quicklywon the hearts of the many resi-dents in the neighborhood. Within afew short months, Boorman wasawarded a commendation from com-

munity leaders for his success incleaning up and changing the face oftheir neighborhood.

In May 1998, Boorman submitteda request to attend a police tacticalbicycle school. At the close of thisexhausting 40-hour class held in WestPalm Beach, Boorman was given theaward for being the best police cyclistin the entire class.

After spending many months onbicycle patrol in particularly toughneighborhoods, Shawn has won thehearts of the children who live in hispatrol area. He has become a rolemodel and a mentor for more young-sters than we can mention.

Though Shawn is an unpreten-tious person who never seeks thelimelight, he serves as an inspirationto everyone he meets, and he hasbecome a beacon of light in crimeprevention efforts throughout Mar-tin County.

In June of 1998, Deputy Boor-man, Sheriff Crowder and many oth-ers went to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, tocomplete an all-day 100-mile bicycleride through the mountains in thename of a charity —the AmericanLukemia Society.

And, in the 400th episode of thenow famous "COPS" TV program, thecamera captured Boorman winning afoot chase with a suspect, and doingwhat is tantamount to a flying tackleto bring him down.

After what you' ve heard so far,you' ve probably developed a mentalimage of the kind of guy that ShawnBoorman might be.

Well, no matter what you thinkyou know —you haven't heard it all!

You see, this story actually beginsin March of 1991, some four yearsbefore Shawn made his approach toSheriff Crowder about becoming adeputy. Then, Boorman was merely a17-year old senior in high school. Heand some pals were on one of theirfamous hunting trips.

One of Shawn's friends acciden-tally dropped a shotgun. For a mile inevery direction, the peace and quiet ofthe woods were pierced by the crack ofthe blast. The full load of the shotgunround caught Boorman in the rightankle, totally destroying everything inits path.

Faced with many complicationsand with no decent alternative, doc-tors were forced to remove Boorman'sright leg.

During the period of therapy thatfollowed, Shawn was fitted with aprosthesis. Today, after months andmonths of physical therapy, patienceand hard work, there is virtually nodemand in police work that Shawncan't accomplish. From all indicationswe get, he probably does it all a lotbetter than most of his counterparts.

At the tender age of 17, ShawnBoorman lost a leg —but he certainlydidn't lose his spirit.

Today, at a youthful 25 years ofage, Shawn Boorman serves his fellowman in ways that —to most of us areunimaginable.

Anb-Rave operalonealhda success

Ifyou were at the press confer-ence held recently, you knew that JimMcDonough, Director of the Gover-nor's Office of Drug Control, felt thatthat the statewide operation called"Heat-Rave" was a raving success!

The four-month operation inwhich the FSA Task Force played amajor role, focused on all-night danceparties known as "raves" culminatedin more than 1,200 arrests and theseizure of more than 49.4 million indrugs. The operation involved more

than 91 state, local and federal lawenforcement agencies in 21 differentcounties.

The stated purpose of the opera-tion was not the "rave" clubs them-selves, but the rampant drug useassociated with them. Much of thedrugs that were seized included GHBand Ectasy, both widely tied to the raveclub followers.

The largest seizure was 55,000doses of Ketamine, described as a cattranquilizer that had an estimatedstreet value of $4 million. Aside f'rom

that cache, 500 pounds ofmarijuana, 15kilos of cocaine, 73 guns, 4737,854 incash and 103 vehicles were conflscated.

McDonough said that the state sconcern over rave clubs was piqued byfour drug overdose deaths thatoccurred in the Tampa Bay area.Those deaths were followed by twomore deaths this past summer asinvestigators laid the groundwork forthe crackdown. As a result of thearrests and seizures, the FloridaDepartment of Business and Profes-sional Regulation, the state agencythat licenses clubs and premises whichsell alcoholic beverages, three of theclubs were closed, and the agency isinvestigating 13more for possible dis-ciplinary action.

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EDlTOR'SCORNER

By 1bm Berlinger

Over the past several years, Ihave had the privilege of representingFBA at several statewide conferencesand training programs on the topic ofdomestic violence (DV), induding theseveral meetings at which the state' spolicy on the state's "Law Enforcement

Response to Domestic Violence" wasdeveloped.

Overall, it appears that reason-able thinking law enforcement person-nel CAN get along with reasonablethinking DV advocates, but critics onboth sides would probably suggest thatthe other side only has few "reason-able" thinkeis. The eye-rolls that Ihave seen on both sides of the tableconvince me that we' ve not quitearrived at the promised land just yet.

Kathleen Parker, a well-respected

nationally syndicated columnistrecently wrote a provocative columnthat appeared in papers across thecountry. It flies in the face of the con-

ventional thinking on domestic vio-lence. At the same time, it providessome food for thought that may be

worthy of further study and an appro-priate response, if needed.

Here are some excerpta of whatMs. Parker wrote.

"Everybody is talking about recentnews that women increasingly arebeing arrested for domestic violence.Men's groups are jubilant; feministsare incensed. One group sees justice;the other sees backlash. Everybodyseems to be looking for the syin thatadvances his or her agenda, ratherthan enlisiiiig new information to drawhelpful conclusions that might some-day reduce domestic violence. "

The article goes on to point outthat women were arrested in 35% ofthe domestic violence cases reported inConcord, NH; 25% in Boulder, CO; andin the state of Vermont, womenaccounted for at least 23% of the~that were made on DV.

Then Parker writes, "More than 20years ago, researchers Murray Strausand Richard Gelles found that womeninitiate violence as often as men in inti-

mate relationships. A study this yearby University of Wisconsin psychologyProfessor 'Ibrrie Moffit confirmed thosefindings and raised the bar a notch. "

"Contrary to feminist explanationsthat women were violent only in self-defense, Professor Mof5t found thatwomen often initiate the violence thatleads to their injury or death, "writesMs. Parker.

"Common sense, "Parker writes,"tells us that women have becomemore aggressive; that (with more

Pub@her

J.itL "Sn4dy" PhQIIpe

Esecnttve Qirector

Florida ~AssecdatLoe

Thcewa, P~@eglhs!!!!se

The ALL POINTS BULLETIN is published clusrterly,in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, by the Florida Sher-ifFs Association, a non-pro6t corporation.

The Fhntda Sheriifs ~tton ~to convey var-ious opinions of law enforcement individuals and orgarn-sattcns in the state ofFlorida, and net!onsl entities which~the, state, ~~~pubs~'tet APS de

woman law enforcement officers thanever before) women cops are likely tobe tougher on other women; and thatmen are tired of all the feministinsinuation that all men are violent,and that domestic violence is but amanifestation of male oppression. "

Then, Ms. Parker doses her arti-cle on a more conciliatory note bywriting, "You can't fix a problemunless you correctly define it."

The federal program that distrib-utes money throughout the countryto end DV is called "VAWA" money,an acronym for the 'Violence AgainstWomen Act." The title alone inher-ently suggests that only women arevictims of DV, although I'm confidentthat nobody at VAWA's central head-quarteie holds that belief themselves.

Ifwe consider, though, that menmay actually be the primary victims(and/or secondary aggressors) in asmuch as a third or more ofDV cases,then might it be time to tweak ourfocus and the funding that we willnecessarily need to go with it?

One factor that will ~y workto inhibit any realigning of the focusmay be the belief that at least some oftoday's public funding to programsthat focus p~y on women as vic-

tims would probably lessen. In theeyes of DV advocates that earn theirliving from publicly funded sources,that could be a real —more than animagined Queat. After all, who amongus doesn't want job security?

Another possible inhibiting fac-tor is that those who clamor exclu-sively for women's rights may bewilhng turn a blind eye because theserevelations don't meet their tradi-tional political agenda.

These are complex issues thatdeserve further inquiry, but one thingis certain: There can only be one goal.

We must strive to end Sjj., domes-tic violence, regardless of the genderof the victims or perpetrators.

To accomplish that goal, we' vegot to all be on the same sheet ofmusic.

Hapyy New Year!

3

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~ ~ I ~ III

Tramel,

Kolchakian and

Diemer move toRorida DEP

Tom Tramel, longtimeformer sheriff of ColumbiaCounty and more recently,the director of the FloridaSheriffs Statewide Task Forcehas resigned &om his positionwith the Task Force. He wassworn in on November 15 asthe new statewide Director of the Divi-

sion of Law Enforcement for theFlorida Department of Envi-ronmental Protection. Dir.Tramel was named to replaceMickey Watson, the personwho held the post for thepast several years.

To his fellow sheriffs,Tramel's tenure as sheriffmay be best remembered forhis "fire and brimstone" styletalks from the heart aboutthe history of the Office ofSheriff; what it meant to him to serveas sheriff; and what it should mean toanyone who is elected to the ofiice.

As director of the Task Force,Tramel headed up a numberof statewide efforts thatincluded things like rounding

up deadbeat parents, estab-lishing a statewide hotlinefor students to call when theylearn of weapons on theircampus, and most recently,and raiding of the "RaveClubs" located in severalcounties.

Maury Kolchakian, FSA's GeneralCounsel and chief of governmentalaffairs for the Florida Sheriffs Associa-tion for the past decade has beenappointed by Tramel to serve as hisAssistant ~r ofDEPs Division ofLaw Enforcement.

Kolchakian, a lawyer for the past

21 years, grew up in Manatee Countyand graduated from Florida State Uni-versity's College of Law.

Prior to joining the FSA as generalcounsel, Kolchakian worked for FDLEin their legal division, and he served inpolicy-making posts under GovernorsBob Graham and Bob Martinez.

In his role as chief ofgovernmental a6airs for thesheri6"s association, Mauryearned accolades for oversee-

ing FSA's efforts to pass sev-

eral "get tough" legislativeissues, particularly the elim-

ination of sentencing guide-lines, the 10/20/Life Bill, andthe 85% of sentence rule forviolent o6enders.

In his new post at DEP,Kolchakian will oversee the day-to-dayadministrative affairs of DEP's law

enforcement division.In a related move,

Pinellas County SergeantBob Diemer, the coordinatorof the task force for manyyears and a former deputy inPinellas and Pasco countieshas been appointed byTramel to head up the inves-tigative section of DEPs lawenforcement functions.

Diemer was initially appointed bySheriff Rice to coordinate the TaskForce about 5 years ago. Prior to thatassignment, Diemer spent many years

working vice/narcotics forPinellas SO.

Diemer's unyieldingand infectious enthusiasm(powered by pots and pots ofcoffee) for Task Force opera-tions played a key role in thegrowing number of statewideoperations that the TaskForce has been involved insince Sheriff Rice took over

as its' chairman.FSA and the sheriffs will miss

each of them, each for their own quali-ties and qualification.

We wish each of them good health,prosperity and success in their newchallenge.

DEP's gain will certainly be FSA's

loss.

buy prhete jail

The PolkCounty Com-mission hasapproved pur-chase of a pri-vate jail toalleviate its'severe over-crowding prob-lem, reportsthe AssociatedPress. Critics report that PolkCounty's jail system may be one of themost overcrowded in the country.

Commissioners voted to purchasethe 1,008 bed facility for $40.8 millionand will enter into mediation that thebuildings owner, Corrections Corpora-tion of America wants to cover on itsinterest to be paid on constructionloans.

The interest has built up becausethe jail, which was approved for occu-

pancy in May, has remained unoccu-pied, and the 16-year old companycould not collect money for operating it.

The commission voted in Augustto begin negotiations to buy the jailafter being told that the sheri6's officecan operate the facility for less moneythan paying the private company $45per day for each county inmate.

ShxIxxfF,~,;~ter coxxxe Qxx

„Q~,l„;,+ricaytar;; woxx no .prizes,fox @pbuItxc cup.

Every, . morph, tIxe xxaxae@of five, am~, ef Qio ~~+,80 axe

,xxxadoxuly, drawxx, Tf+,, wxQI+rs, @re

z%@Qxr%4; tto sQbxnxt, @ I~erx for~~~ @xxd;L4uxc~, s,~was oxxa xxei~ dxxxwxx,

.,

",,The, ,oxxxtvalue, .of~.or~iaa-i@~~ I~it ixI;s~~

ixxx~t, '.„that the, public.~wedo:~oxa,~,, It'a~. W righ

topi,"s@d, the sheri.

Page 5: Boorman is Sheril - Florida Sheriffs Association_VOL_10,_NO_1,_2000.pdfers went to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, to complete an all-day 100-mile bicycle ride through the mountains in the name

Waee brag alswl hsvlnla famous elINe?

Did you know that David Letterman's

sister has been on staff of the St Peters-

burg Times for over a decade? Or that the

late Elizabeth Montgomery's (Bewitched)

brother has been a professor at FSU for

many years?

Well, with over 32,000 folks working

in the sheriff's offices across the state,there are probably more than a few of you

who are blood relatives of some famous

celebrity whose name we'd all know. Infact, we' ve got reason to believe that some

ofyou were famous" or nearly famous in aprevious life, yourself,

For example, I remember hearing of

at least one former NFL player who works

as a correctional officer in one of our

county jails, and another as a deputy sher-

iKhere in Florida. So, ifyou qualify, here' s

your chance to legitimately brag about it to

your counterparts, and to the world. ...We' ve got to have some qualifiers

here, though, so that we don't get people

bragging about being the wife of a cousin,

of a friend, of the next door neighbor toYogi Berra. (I'll give you a personalexample. Milton Berle's real famQy name

is Berlinger - the same as mine. He is, Iam told, a cousin of my grandfather thathas been deceased since 1963. Bzzztt.I'm Disqualiffed! Ibo far removed. )

And, we don't want 12th cousins ofAlexander the Great, either. I assumethat ifyou go back far enough, we' ve pmb-

ably all got ties to Adam and Eve, a rather

famous couple in their own rite.

So, we' re looking to hear from anyfull-time sheriff's office employee, working

in any capacity, who is an immediate

blood relative (not a connection by mar-

mqp) to somebody famous.

By immediate relative, I mean thatyou are the famous person yourself (fmm

your prior career), OR you are the mother,

father, son, daughter, sister„bmther, aunt,

uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent orgrandchild (by blood, not by marriage) ofa celebrity that most everybody would

know ifwe heard the name.

The celebrity could be a widely-recog-

nized politician, actor, sports ffgure, etc.We need your name, where you work,

what you do, and the actual link between

you and the named celebrity. Ifyou want

to add an anecdotal personal story, thatwould even be better. (Remember thatsoiile members of the media read this

publication. Given that fact, somebody

might check up on you, so beware that ifyou make a false claim, your could beexposed as a &aud and be subject to flog-

ging and public ridicule forever!)

I hasten to add that we' re not going

to be looking for autographed photos from

your relative (unless you want to sendone signed Ib 'Ibm. " But, when Fve com-

piled a suitable listing, we' ll write a fea-

ture story in a future edition ofAPB, and

include details fmm a cross-section of thesubmissions.

Submit your entries to Tom

Berhnger here at, FSA. You can eitherdrop me a note cl'o Florida SherifFs Asso-

ciation, Post Office Box 12519,. Tallahas-

see, FL 32317, or e-mail me at:'Ibm@FLsheriffs. org

Let's make this fun!

I I

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www. sprung. corn

Page 6: Boorman is Sheril - Florida Sheriffs Association_VOL_10,_NO_1,_2000.pdfers went to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, to complete an all-day 100-mile bicycle ride through the mountains in the name

~ These unique badges are hand crafted with hard fired enamels and coated with

over twenty-five microns of gold to illuminate the beautiful details of the

Florida sheriff's star, the Florida state flag and our country flag.~ Each badge can be personalized to be individual or departments request.~ A beautiful keepsake for an exceptional price of $36.00 each.~ Available in Gold or Rhodium plate - 2.5" diameter.

~ Please call our factory for your personal badge, 1-800-316-3009.~ Or contact your Florida sales once. Hu Freels @407-647-6794

or (page) 407-983-0269 for immediate service and samples.

Northeast Emblem 6f Badge Co1034 Prospect Rd. Cheshire, CT. 06410

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Page 7: Boorman is Sheril - Florida Sheriffs Association_VOL_10,_NO_1,_2000.pdfers went to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, to complete an all-day 100-mile bicycle ride through the mountains in the name

FSA Jail Qlm s1SQCl'$$i

FSA held our annual Jail Adminis-trator's Training Conference on Decem-

ber 7-9, a the Sandestin BeachHILTON in Destin. By all accounts, itwas a great success!

Sheriff Quinn Mclllian was thereon opening day to welcome the atten-dees to Walton County and the nearbycommunities of Destin, Fort WaltonBeach and Seaside, the colorful beach-side community that provided the back-

drop for the movie, "The Truinan Story"starring Jim Carrey

About 105 sheriffs, jail administra-tors and their command level staff werein attendance. And, a total of 27 corpo-rate sponsors were also there to show-

case the newest and best in goods andservices that are frequently soughta&er by those who manage jail faciTities

acrete the state.Among the sponsors were inmate

telephone service, medical service andfood service providers, as well asinmate canteen suppliers. There wasalso a cross section of hardware andsoftware companies, uniform compa-nies and furniture manufacturers,

"The exhibit hall provides jailadminmtrators with a great opportu-nity to learn about the latest and bestnew products on the jail market, "said Captain Joe Fontana, the headof the Sarasota County Jail, "thereseems to be new advances every cou-

ple of months, so this exposure isinvaluable. "

Guest speakers addressed every-thing from inmate mental healthissues to the proper procedures that

must be followed when a foreignnational is taken into custody andshows up at the back door of the jail.

"We probably gain as much infor-mation from our counterparts duringthe breaks and social functions as wedo from the actual classroom presen-tations, "said Mej. 'Ibmmy Taylor, thehead of Monroe County's jail systemthat is based in Key West.

"There is also the intangiblevalue ofmeeting the other jail admin-istrators and getting to know them aspeople rather than as just a voice inthe phone, "said Capt. Paul Hinmanof Highlands County (Sebring), "thenwhen I have to call one of them, I'm

callid a friend. .."Anyone that attended the course

can use this 20-hour training prot@amtowards satisfying their mandatorytraining requirements. And the 14sheriffs that attended were able touse this course to satisfy their train-ing requirements for the SherifFsSalary Supplement program that isprovided for in state statute.

NneNy nlmneIn In n

can't win

Many urban police departmentshave, in recent years, made a specialeffort to recruit minority ofEcers, both asa matter of fairness and to improve their

relationships with the communities they

serve. However, the Chicago Tribune

has reported that, if there were expecta-

tions that increasing diversity in the~of police departments would beakdown barriers between police and theircommunities, those expectations havenot been met.

According to the Tribune, somemembers of the Atrican-American com-

munity have indicated that while white

ofEcers can be abusive or insensitive attimes, that black officers are sometimes

seen as worse. Meanwhile, black ofEcers

say they have been put in a diKcultposition straddling the line between per-

sonal and professional allegiance when

dealing with persons oftheir own race."The statement I hear all the time

is 'I would expect that from a whiteofficer, but not from a brother, "saidChicago Police OfFicer Isaac Lee."Like what, I'm supposed to overlook

your crime because we' re both black?"For black officers, trying to bal-

ance personal and professional loyal-

ties can be a perplexing proposition.Though sworn to protect public safety,

black officers are also working in asystem that often promotes the pei-ception that minorities are crimiiialsand are working in a profession thatis alleged to unfairly target minorities

for harassment and brutality. One

black officer told the Tribune that"Supervisors, who are very oftenwhite, are watching you to make surethat you are not just going easy onyour own people, while your own peo-

ple are looking at you to see if you area sellout. "

According to a national poll onrace relations conducted by the JointCenter for Political and EconomicStudies, a group that looks predomi-nantly at black issues, 81 percent ofblacks and 83 percent of Latinosagreed that police, no matter whattheir race, are more likely to haramand discriminate against blacksthan whites. Even 56 percent ofwhites agreed.

According to both police oKcersand community leaders, the problemsthat minority police ofEcers encounterneed to be addressed by police leader-

ship and in the training that officersreceive at the academy and thereafter.CourterrJr ofCrime Contml Digeet

Page 8: Boorman is Sheril - Florida Sheriffs Association_VOL_10,_NO_1,_2000.pdfers went to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, to complete an all-day 100-mile bicycle ride through the mountains in the name

Concerned about drug overdosesand deaths, as well as law enforcementproblems and trashed streets associatedwith "rave" dubs, oScials in Gainesville

are considering an ordmance that will

bring the city under the state's anti-rave

law which bans clubs with liquorlicenses from staying open after theystop serving alcoholic beverages.According to the Independent FloridaAlligator U-Wire, police ofFicials arebecoming increasingly concerned aboutthe number ofyoung teenagers who areexposed to the drugs at these dubs.

Gainesville police Lt. Ed Book, who

heads GPD's narcotics division, said"we've had problems for years inGainesville with designer drugs in thedowntown area as a result of rave par-ties. The police department has doneeverything it can do to deal with theproblem, but it's just not enough. "

In 1997,the Florida legislature triedto get a handle on the rave problem bypassing the law requiring clubs to closeafter last call. However, the law allowed

any city to opt out if it chose to do so.Gainesville opted out, but appar-

ently is reconsidering that decision.Book said that opting back in would bea good decision for the city. He notedthat "it would do one of two things: itwould force dubs that are open all mghteither to give up their alcohol license orto close at times that are already setunder CIty ordmance at 2.'00 a.m."Courtesy ofCrime Control Digest

Our fdud uf judge. ..Aside from straight

sentencing to prison forfelons, Florida"s circuitjudges can 61e an official"Judicial Objection" withthe Florida Parole Commission.

The "JO"as it is often referred to,basically puts the Parole Commissionon ofFicial notice that they cannot con-

sider parole of a particular sentencedinmate until they (the court) is noti-fied, consulted, and approves of theparole.

On November 23, the Hon. TedColeman, chief judge of the NinthJudicial Circuit that is based in andaround Orlando, wrote the followingjudicial objection regarding inmatePhillip Grant, a person he had sent toprison. This is the entire letter:

Dear (Parole Commission sta8):I have been asked for my com-

ments about a potential parole date forthe above named individual. I suggestthat the members of the Commissiontake the following steps:

1. Watch the Weather Channelevery day.

2. When there is an indicationthat the abode of Satan is going to suf-

fer frigid temperatures, they shouldgive some consideration to parole forMr. Grant.

Thank you for your interest in thiscase.Sincerely,%d Coleman, Circuit Judge

Seuus& uaLs.Tatslehnla, Mexico —~wax%'. n Lint3'u'rute'5ius' '~his toison, ~N'4kiieik~'niiL'to

BeSary, Ft -. Somany motorist s wens eon-

oianist that" a Sow'~ in hhes4ey water'in. e flooded gel4 was'settle+'etgh, 'that iicaused a tre@e iem recently, , %~,~meyiug eginn-, atld, te etop, the, &)t„„ealIetoFHP abiut a "ihawi9in'g'~, "~wow'orh

set'nj eise4c46nk sj'gn that ~theme'~, "~"Cew Is OK"'te fete~ ease.Bnt, two 4sfis hsterl ths ~censing a trefge jem as motorists I~ forthe eow, whish had long since walked away.

Herunston, Qtt ~„POIIee III,this city~the seen~e henir~it was Iohhed heard a min yt~ for helpfrees insl'de a ear tronh. Atl'etgeer opined the

'and ~"t.neai%nters„' bat not forIong~'~ ~~end~the hsnh~ a@ed yn5m ~ost thatin hie nail to mshe a,qeck~IIfintersp~ t6 Ik a ~cfr Hl@5geegelothIsi ent efsight of Issssers-hy, 'hy'getting into a esl'~oatthatest

Ith;"fft-'Tao 'lV~~bs Igos tahe shet The

twe~te~~tres to 5nd.oat,nntg a84,~~Is~in sIMI tait

, a stop to it,-,hy offeror to do it for them.Each ofthe teens songht mls@eat he/, and'Ihs'ohter:num eels

FLORA 88K~8 ASSOCIATIONT8118ll8888B, FK 32317-2519

Return Service requested

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

TALLAHASSEE, FLPERMIT NO. 94