Shift shares in Chamber deputy honor
In the middle of the night, while you’re asleep, they’re out keeping you safe, locking up the bad guys.
They are the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and last week the North Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce honored the entire “A” side shift with the Deputy of the Quarter honor during its monthly Business Leader’s Luncheon at the Shell Factory’s Dolphin Room.
They didn’t do anything special, like run down an armed burglar or stop a big money drug deal. They just did their job in keeping the area safer and reducing crime from dusk to dawn.
The proof is in the numbers. In October they answered 905 calls for service and made 116 arrests and consistently get 80 arrests per month, thanks to mingling in the community and communicating with informants.
Over the last 12 months, the shift has responded to 9,100 calls for service and made 730 arrests. Home burglaries were down by 69, vehicle burglaries down by 109 and stolen vehicles were reduced by 36.
Sgt. Jennifer Torres, who supervises the shift, said it is because of their tenacity in tracking down the bad guys that there are fewer bad guys to track down.
“In one month we made more than 100 arrests. We would like to believe that’s the reason crime stats are down,” Torres said. “We’re out in the public making traffic stops, letting the criminals see our lights. The more visual we are, the more we suppress in our area.”
Torres said it is also the work of the citizens that helps them find potential trouble spots, give tips on possible crimes and areas of interest that the Sheriff’s Office can check out.
Capt. Christopher Reeves, who heads the North zone, said Torres has worked with her for years and has been blessed with having a very good, diverse crew.
Kyle Kmetez is an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was wounded in combat, Chase Bubley was a Marine Corps captain who also was in combat in Afghanistan. Shilo Johnson is a training officer and Brandon Averill came from the Fort Myers Police Department.
Brandon Marshall was a training officer and is now a detective. Thomas Zawisza is a young, aggressive deputy, as is Mitchell Doughorty.
“She has a great combination of training officers, war veterans, just an amazing group of guys. She’s been here for 10 years and is a motivator and leads these guys and she follows,” Reeves said. “I coach football, but if I could draft a team I would take this team.”
Also honored were Lt. Mike Rakestraw and Lt. Jeff Trusal.
Chamber president Jeffrey Houfek said the award was based on “the shift’s loyalty and dedication to serve and protect their community. Their highly aggressive patrol tactics had reduced crime by 18 percent compared to 2014.”
Houfek concluded by saying that even the criminals don’t like playing around in the North District because the deputies are everywhere.
“I’m honored. I have an unbelievable shift. They participate 100 percent every day, so it’s an honor,” Torres said.