56: A Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Podcast

Looking for a meaningful job? We’re a lot more than just uniformed deputies on the road! In this episode of 56, we talk with our three HR recruiters about the almost endless possibilities here at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Your hosts Ricky, Ashley, and Laura love working here, and we think you would too. Whether you’re fresh out of school and just starting out, or mid-career and needing a change, we have a job you’ll love. Does your corporate IT job feel meaningless? Use your skills to help keep your county safe. Are you an admin with boring coworkers? Come work with deputies and detectives. Want to be in the middle of the action without being in personal danger? You might have a future as a dispatcher.You’ll also learn about what it takes to become a deputy, whether in the jail, on the road, or in the courthouse. Already certified? If you’re listening from the frozen north, or from a community that doesn’t support its law enforcement, you’ll find that Pinellas County offers a welcoming climate in more ways than one.You’ve had hours of fun listening to PCSO members on this podcast. Wouldn’t you like to have a career alongside us? PinellasSheriff.gov/Careers.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website

Deputies can’t walk to calls – gone are the days of the beat cop on foot patrol – so the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office depends on Michael Vecchione, manager of the Fleet Services Division. His career took him from BMWs to firetrucks to PCSO’s Tahoes, armored vehicles, the command bus, and more. On this episode of 56, find out how you take a basic Tahoe and upfit it to a state-of-the-art police vehicle with lights, sirens, a push bar, and an interior that’s somewhere between an office and an arsenal. There’s science behind all those flashing lights too, and innovations have fine tuned them to keep deputies safer on the road. From the travails of finding parts for a military vehicle that’s still top secret, to how emergency vehicles handle hurricanes, we talk with the guy who literally keeps the sheriff’s office running. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website

In this episode, we bring back one of our favorite guests – and we’re not just saying that because he’s our boss. On his last visit you got to learn the history and career path that made Sheriff Bob Gualtieri the sheriff he is today. Now we talk more about some of the issues that are near and dear to the hearts of Pinellas County residents, and issues that have far-reaching implications across our country. When Sheriff Gualtieri sees a problem, he fixes it. That’s why we have innovative, first of their kind programs like Safe Harbor, which diverts homeless people from jail to a safe shelter, or diversion programs to give young people or first-time minor offenders a second chance. He created the HOME Task Force to monitor the worst young offenders, and made a robust Threat Management Unit to identify problems at their earliest stage and nip them in the bud. You know that school safety is his top priority, and in addition to prevention, rapid response, and thorough investigation, he has added an innovative and much-needed component: family reunification. Find out why major crimes in Pinellas County are at historically low levels, how he’ll keep you safer during the next hurricane, and why he’s a hard man to categorize.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website

Deputy Syeeta Robinson-DeBerg is the kind of person who will ride a bike down stairs without worrying about how she’s going to stop at the bottom. If it’s a new challenge, she wants to try it – and do better than anyone else. Syeeta says she’s always liked kids and drugs – not in a creepy way – and so a career in law enforcement was perfect for her, helping kids and getting drugs off the streets. Sure, as a rookie she couldn’t always tell when someone was dead, but now she has her finger on the pulse of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Her role in Staff Inspections is basically to tell the sheriff what’s going on in every nook and cranny of the agency so he can better support what’s working and fix anything that needs improvement. At one time or another all the cash, drugs, guns, jewels, and explosives in the agency pass through her hands, so you know she has some entertaining stories to tell.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website

Talk about rising through the ranks! Chief Deputy David Danzig is the number-two man at PCSO, second only to Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, and has done just about everything at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). Coming from a law enforcement family, he knew he wanted to be a cop practically since he was a baby. In fact, his reward for potty training was a ride in cruiser running lights and sirens. From his first arrest (charge: Cat Running at Large) to his first week as the new chief, he’s never had a bad day at work. Despite the many challenges of law enforcement, he has always loved his job, whether he was working in the Marine unit where he saved lives with the right combination of “skillset and guts” or leading the Violent Crimes Task Force that reduced homicides and gun crimes in the county. It’s a peculiarity of law enforcement that as you rise through the ranks, once you get comfortable somewhere they move you somewhere else. But Chief Danzig thrived wherever he went because of a collaborative leadership style and a willingness to learn. In this episode, we talk about Chief Danzig’s career, and why he thinks the resiliency, strength, knowledge, and training of today’s PCSO deputies makes them the greatest generation of law enforcement officers.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website

In this episode we talked with “the world's most uninteresting man,” Deputy Chuck Skipper with the Crime Prevention and Community Awareness Unit. If you’ve seen some of our creative safety videos, Chuck’s face is a familiar one and you know he’s anything but uninteresting. He has a passion for crime prevention and will do almost anything on camera for the sake of good messaging, but there’s so much more to Chuck than that. He shares his humble beginnings in the wings of the Marion County Jail where he encountered some of Florida’s most notorious serial killers and discusses the realities of working the road in a rural county – where backup is seemingly hours away when you’re in a fight surrounded by extremely dangerous poultry. You’ll learn about his PCSO experience investigating often gruesome crashes, traffic enforcement from the air, the latest scams ravaging vulnerable populations, and all things crime prevention...all on the latest episode of 56.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website

In this episode we talk with Sergeant Jake Viano, who was raised in Long Beach during the height of gang violence and grew up to become the hero who saved Corporal Matt Aitken’s life when he was ambushed and shot during a K-9 track. As if that isn’t enough, he had a professional baseball career in between. Hear about the life-and-death fashion choices a kid has to make when navigating between the Crips and the Bloods, and how to play baseball when the opposing team calls in gang members to threaten your life if you score again. He was drafted by the Rockies for his killer curveball and changeup, and played locally for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but eventually his childhood dream of law enforcement lured him to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Hear stories from his time in Narcotics, on the SWAT Team, and as a K-9 handler, including the tale of how a potato became the key piece of evidence in a conspiracy to commit murder. Whether in the ballpark or on patrol, Jake is the one you call for the win.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO WebsiteMental Health For Heroes

In this episode we talk with Tactical Paramedic Supervisor Joey Greco, who carries guns AND tourniquets. If he ever has to shoot you, he’ll probably be able to save your life afterward. Joey is one of the TacMeds who train with SWAT and accompany them on callouts, positioned in the hot zone. Although he’s not on the entry team, he’s trained to respond under fire if one of the SWAT operators is harmed. Joey began his lifesaving career as an Explorer with Clearwater FD, where at age 16 he responded to his first cardiac arrest. Hear about his SWAT tryouts, going through the same obstacle course as the operators but then having to save a life while the operator candidates rested, and learn how he graduated from New Guy #2 to New Guy #1. We’re proud to say that Joey has gotten first place in the SWAT Roundup TacMed Challenge two years in a row. Since that’s an international competition, does that mean he’s the best tactical paramedic in the world? We like to think so.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website

In this episode we talk with Lieutenant Dave Stang, a man so powerful he can lose eight pints of blood – the amount in an average human – and still be standing, a veritable Paul Bunyan who was running a chainsaw in the timber business at age 11, and was hired as a firefighter before he even finished high school. As a young man he never thought about going into law enforcement, but his superhero origin story is full of foreshadowing: as a teen he saved students and teachers from bullies, and even rescued a state trooper in a fight against a huge drunk. His career began in St. Pete, cleaning up a drug-ravaged housing complex, and plucking guns from rioters’ hands. When he came to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office he spent years taking down some of the county’s most violent offenders. He’s been mistaken for the bodyguard to the head of a notorious biker gang, caught an escaped inmate charged with murder, and may or may not have run over our SWAT Supervisor, Sergeant Brian Diebold. Meet the guy who has never lost a fight, but whose wife thinks he has a cushy desk job now that he’s a lieutenant. (Shh… don’t tell her!)Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website

In this episode we talk with possibly the happiest man in the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office: Sergeant Jimmy Fortner. He began his career in a super max prison where stabbings, overdoses, hangings, and attacks on guards were commonplace. Now he works at the Pinellas County Jail, which despite the best resources and training can still be fraught with danger. Jimmy is an imposing six-foot-six and 360 pounds but he says he’s never won a fight… even against a Little Person in the Mexican Mafia. Jimmy is a larger-than-life guy who does a lot for the agency, including riding in a helicopter while dressed as Santa. On this episode you’ll hear about how the jail helps psych inmates and the elderly, how to maintain mental health when you work in the jail… and what severed body part he’s had hurled at his chest.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO WebsiteMental Health For Heroes

In this episode we talk with SWAT Supervisor, Sergeant Brian Diebold, a man described by many as a tactical genius. A man who isn’t afraid of anything… except joining us on the podcast. Tune in to find out what he reveals about his long and varied career – and then tell us what he’s leaving out! After years of kicking in doors and catching murderers, Brian is now the guy who has to stay back by the Command Bus while his SWAT studs make entry. That’s hard for a man who has made more door entries than all of his current SWAT team combined. With a long litany of career-related injuries maybe he was almost ready to slow down… but his sudden promotion to sergeant took him from tackling bad guys to a desk job overnight. Funny, we still never see Brian behind a desk. Meet the guy who made the Chevy Suburban cool, and find out if SWAT is going to accept the bold challenge that Lieutenant Freddie Hayes and the Corrections Response Team threw down.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website

In this episode we talk with Assistant Forensic Science Supervisor Rhonda Klein, the “Queen of the Meth Labs” who has processed some of the most interesting – and most disgusting – crime scenes imaginable. From hoarder houses to bodies so decomposed that they’re barely recognizable as human, Rhonda has seen it all. She initially trained as a deputy but later followed her first passion for Forensics – see if that early training prepared her for the moment she was trapped alone at a crime scene with a suspect who was hiding in a closet. You’ll find out if local meth labs are just like Breaking Bad, discover the worst smell in all of Forensics, and learn exactly what that was on the bottom of Rhonda’s boot after she left the crime scene… all on the latest episode of 56.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website

In this episode we talk with Major Adrian Arnold, who currently oversees our Judicial Operations Bureau but whose 30 year career includes stints in nearly every part of the agency. His entire future was launched with a single trial ride-along in Michigan, but the promise of snow-free winters combined with the idea that being a Florida cop would be a little like Miami Vice lured him to the PCSO. Major Arnold was on the forefront of the Community Policing movement, at a time when law enforcement was starting to realize that a close connection with the community and addressing neighborhood problems like street lighting can make a world of difference in preventing crime. Hear why driving a Mustang for a cruiser isn’t as fun as you’d think, why the sheriff tore up his promotion memo in his face, and how one drunk lady gave him a candy-coated nickname that lasted his whole career.Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.comFollow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTubeFollow 56: InstagramPCSO Website