As many of you may or may not know, the City of Pompano Beach is close to ending it’s police services contract with the Broward Sheriff’s Office. This decision is based on proposals and projected budgets which appear to have serious flaws and fail to take many intangibles into consideration. At risk are the livelihoods of nearly 300 BSO employees and their families, both sworn law enforcement and civilian personnel. The city manager has added insult to injury by stating that these laid off BSO employees would not be absorbed into a new Pompano Beach Police Department. Instead, they would only be ‘welcomed to apply.’ To make matters worse, few of the city’s residents and business owners are even aware this is happening.

If you live in Pompano Beach or know anyone who lives or works in the city, please forward this information to them. They need to be aware that their law enforcement services are going to take a drastic hit. We also need as much public support for BSO by attending the Pompano Beach city commission meeting on Tuesday, February 9 at 7 pm. at 100 W. Atlantic Blvd. If you cannot attend, please send the city mayor and commissioners an e-mail expressing your support for BSO. Their e-mail addresses can be found on the city website at http://www.facebook.com/l/05b8f;www.mypompanobeach.org.

The new Schenectady police officers will enter the Zone 5 Law Enforcement Training Academy on Wednesday 1/20/10. Their police academy training experience will consist of six months of basic training, followed by 12 weeks of department supervised field training.

The new officers are:
Andrew R. MacDonald, 25, of Ballston Lake;
Brandon M. Shepler, 22, of Schenectady;
Douglas D. Smith, 33, of Glenville;
Christopher M. Wilgocki, 22, of Schenectady;
Robert A. Young, Jr., 28, of Scotia

AOL news reports that GM and Chrysler will be continuing their production of police vehicles. According to AOL – The Caprice PPV will be powered by a 6.0L V-8 engine with Active Fuel Management technology and E85 capability. GM says it will do the 0-to-60 sprint in less than six seconds, and Goebel said it will have a top speed “in the 150-mph range. We’re not sure exactly what the horsepower will be yet, but it will be in the neighborhood of 355.”

As far as the new Ford Police Interceptor, Ford has not released any details about the powertrain, but said the Interceptor is being developed in combination with Ford’s Police Advisory Board, which supplies input during the past year on issues like safety, performance, durability, driver convenience and comfort. It seems like the new Ford Police Interceptor will be based on the rear-drive Falcon, from Ford’s Australian unit.

Chrysler is quoted as saying “We will continue to produce the Charger police vehicle in 2011” and beyond, said Chrysler spokesperson Kathy Graham. “We see Ford’s decision (to discontinue the Crown Vic) an opportunity to grow our market share — our goal is to increase our market share to 40 percent over the next 12-14 months.” The Broward Sheriff’s Office is using the new Charger now, and I’ve heard great reviews. They also have some new Challengers and I was told buy a reliable source they had them in the shop getting chips and other modifications.

BSO Challengers

The new entry into the police car market is Carbon Motors’ rear-wheel-drive E7 police vehicle. It will be powered by a Forced Induction Diesel engine that will deliver 250 horsepower, said Stacy Stephens, Carbon Motors’ co-founder. This could become a very popular vehicle.

A recent study was done and its results are what some may consider astounding. Others might consider, well, yawn….. nothing new. Part of the study found loss of sleep has been shown to have a harmful impact on carbohydrate metabolism and endocrine function, which could contribute to metabolic disorders.  I think what they are saying is that lack of sleep is bad.

Other fascinating studies have shown that lack of sunshine has a detrimental effect on people.  This is reported to be more of a problem up north. These are truly fascinating facts, but the point is there is a lot to be said for South Florida law enforcement jobs, sun, beach, lots of activities and warm weather.  After reading these studies another advantage is, because of the metropolitan South Florida area, most midnight work is well lit.

sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-palm-deputy-burned-100209,0,4793537.story
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Ride in the Keys

Motorcycle falls, burns Palm Beach County deputy

Group of deputies had been headed toward Key West when motorcycle fell, burst into flames

By Jerome Burdi
Sun Sentinel
5:49 PM EDT, October 3, 2009
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Richard Ragali loves road trips on his Harley Davidson. But an annual one to Key West on Friday was cut short when his Harley caught fire at a gas station and pinned him, authorities said, burning up to 60 percent of his body.

Ragali, 53, a deputy since 1982, was with a group of colleagues when they stopped at a Shell gas station in Marathon at about 3:30 p.m. to fill their tanks.

“There was a puddle of gas on the ground from a previous customer,” Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Pat Santangelo told The Miami Herald. “When the bike fell, it ignited the gas on the ground, causing the motorcycle to catch on fire.”

Fellow deputies pulled him out but not before he was severely burned. Ragali was flown to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami in critical condition.

Ragali, who works in the sheriff’s park’s unit, is also a popular instructor at Palm Beach Community College’s police academy.

“He always kept you entertained and he knew what he was talking about,” said former student Katerina Gil, 20, a community service officer with Delray Beach police. “He was upbeat, everyone liked him.”

Former student Gabriel Garcia, 23, was updating his physical test when he saw Ragali Thursday.

“He always kept an eye out for me,” said Garcia, who has not yet landed a job with an agency. He said Ragali was helpful during the application process. And the best way to get Ragali talking was to ask about his Harley.

Garcia told him he was crazy for taking the six hour drive to Key West on a motorcycle.

“I just drove it 13 hours to North Carolina for a party,” was Ragali’s response, Garcia said.

On his trips back from the Keys Ragali preferred the long way home. He’d drive out all the way west to Alligator Alley, Garcia said, and make a loop up to Daytona Beach before heading home.

“You’d talk to him and your perspective towards cops changes,” Garcia said.

Sheriff’s Deputy J.P. Harvey, also an instructor at PBCC, knows Ragali as a colleague and was one of his students six years ago in the academy.

“It was humbling and I was honored to be able to teach at the academy alongside someone who had such a positive impact on my career,” Harvey said.

Information from The Miami Herald was used to supplement this report.

Jerome Burdi can be reached at jburdi@SunSentinel.com or 561-243-6531.
Copyright © 2009, South Florida Sun-Sentinel