Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the county.
The next citizens academy will begin in April and it runs through May.
Sheriff Ramsay said, “This is one of our great events. We really like this event. Our citizens love it. We’ve been doing it for a long time now. We have a lot of interest. We do it in three parts of the county, so it’s accessible to everybody. On Tuesday, it’s going to be in the Key West area, Lower Keys. On Wednesday, it’ll be in Marathon. On Thursday it’ll be in the Upper Keys in Key Largo. So wherever you live, it’s going to be accessible. It’s basically one day a week, from 6pm to 10pm for about five weeks. And it’s hands on. We make it fun, action, adrenaline, excitement. It’s only the first day that we’re actually sitting there, kind of talking, explaining things to the class. The rest of the time, you’re going to be integrated, doing stuff, whether it’s the police ride along, whether it be building searches, traffic stops, all controlled, all safe. We’ll be doing a lot of stuff that’s going to make you think, and we’re going to get you in positions safely, but where you have to make a split second decision, which could affect the rest of your life or somebody else’s. And reports have always been fantastic. People love this citizens police academy. We’ve actually had people that have gone through it that after that, have wanted to come up and work with the sheriff’s office that either go to the police academy, corrections academy, or some other civilian job. So that’s been a big plus, a big perk, but this helps to build police community relations for the citizens to better understand what a full-scale agency does, what our capacities are, why we do things, and it’s just really, really good for everybody involved. My team members love it. They love interacting with citizens and meeting new people. We’re building relationships, internal, external that last a lifetime. So we’re excited about this.”
The Basic Law Enforcement Academy is also coming up.
Sheriff Ramsay said, “Basic Law Enforcement Academy starts at the College of the Florida Keys in Key West on May 11. So we’re going to be sponsoring probably four to six people. We’re doing pretty good on staffing, so we don’t need to send a huge amount, but there are opportunities where you’ll be paid to go to school, and when you graduate, you’ll have a job to go right into. So it’s a good career, good opportunity. We’re looking for people that live here local. We’re not looking for people from Miami Dade County who are not really going to be here for the long haul. Looking for people that are mostly from Islamorada to Key West for the most part. Our biggest needs are for the central and south patrol stations. So we’re hoping to find people who are from here, live here, have a place to stay, have family, friends, structure and want to be in the Keys, and they’re going to be long term employees. So great opportunity for somebody to have a change in career and have a good career with good benefits, good opportunities, challenging. It’s a team effort, action, adrenaline, excitement. There’s just no job like being a police officer in the Keys. In some other communities, it’s challenging to be a law enforcement officer because police, community relationships are not well, they’re poor. But here is different. The police, community relationships here are so awesome. The citizens in Monroe love the sheriff’s office. It’s nice to come to work where you’re appreciated and citizens know, like, trust, and respect you.”
A Cutler Bay man was arrested recently for selling cocaine.
Sheriff Ramsay said, “This is a drug dealer trafficking in cocaine who resides in Miami Dade County, but comes to the Keys to sling drugs to our community. My special operations narcotics teams have been working on this guy. We had warrants for his arrest already for other sales of cocaine, which occurred here in Monroe, and he came down and did a third party transaction for just over three ounces of cocaine, which is trafficking levels, that’s enhanced penalties. That’s a pretty serious charge. He sold over three ounces, and after that, we did a controlled traffic stop. We recovered our buy money from him, and we arrested him on outstanding warrants as well as the trafficking cocaine charge. So he is in Monroe County jail. He’s got a lot of problems heading his way, and we’re going to continue to hold people accountable and stop these people from Miami Dade County, that come down to commit crimes in our community.”
A charge of animal cruelty also came up recently where a person was seen yanking a 135 pound Great Dane on a choke chain collar to the extent that that dog was lifted up backward, causing it to violently land on its back on a hard surface.
Sheriff Ramsay said, “This was the case that occurred on Stock Island. We have received a call from witnesses who were concerned about the well being of this great dane. The male had a choke collar on this 135 pound Great Dane, and was seen putting excessive pressure on the choke collar to the point of lifting the dog off the ground. At one point, lifting the dog up off the ground, over, falling on his back. We got called about this cruelty to animals charge. We got on scene. We did identify the person. SPCA was contacted. Surveillance footage was recovered from the marina so we could actually see what took place, and the video did verify the accounts given by witnesses were accurate, correct. After discussing with SPCA, looking at the video, interviewing witnesses, we determined that the person did exceed the law in regards to discipline of an animal, and it got to the point that it was excessive and did violate the law for cruelty to animals. Animals can be challenging, for sure, but frustration just can’t prevail. Your frustration means that you’re going to cross the line, the animal is going to be harmed or put in a difficult position. It’s just tough if you’re not going to properly take care of an animal, don’t have the animal, and if you want to have it, you’ve got to take care of and treat it accordingly. At times, yes, animals can be frustrating to owners, but that’s never the answer is to get a choke caller and rip your dog off the ground and throw him on his back and drag a dog because it won’t listen to your commands. So sad to see that. So many animals need good homes, and we hate to see people treat animals like this, for sure.”
A traffic stop at 12 a.m. last week discovered nearly 100 rounds of ammunition were in possession of the operator, who had previous firearm related felony convictions.
Sheriff Ramsay said, “Traffic enforcement is so important to keep our roads safe, but with that comes a lot of crimes. So we did stop this vehicle for the headlight out in the wee hours of the morning. Not much good happens after midnight, I always tell you. This person is a convicted felon, not allowed to possess weapons or ammunition, so we did find over 100 rounds of ammunition vehicle which violates the law. We found him on a suspended license. We found him to have a catch tag, not assigned to the vehicle, which is a traffic crime, and we found out that we had stopped him months earlier and warned him about the registration issues on the vehicle, and not to be driving, but he continues to drive, continue to have tags from other vehicles because he had no insurance, didn’t have a license, he couldn’t get a tag and registration, so he just stole the tag and put it on the truck. So this person was charged with multiple crimes, and besides being dangerous, he’s driving with no insurance, so if he hits you or somebody else, you’re going to be on your own. You’re not going to have this person’s ability to have insurance to help cover any damage or injuries which may occur. So that’s always a concern for us when it comes to public safety. But here’s a person who shouldn’t be behind the wheel because his driving privilege has been suspended for a lot of reasons, but besides that, he can’t learn that he’s not allowed to be in possession of weapons and ammunition, yet still is. When he was warned prior about attaching tags, not driving on a suspended license, so every which way this person was put on notice and/or given a chance, but every which way this person continues to disregard law, breaks guidance, directions, rules, and just continues to offend and violate, thus he was arrested, the vehicle was towed, and he’s spending time in the Rick Ramsay Bed and Breakfast.”
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday might bring some more traffic.
Sheriff Ramsay said, “Be careful out there. It’s a little chilly. A little bit of traffic on the road being a three day holiday weekend. Everybody enjoyed the extra days. Those who don’t have to work today, and the ones that do have to work, I wish you were off, but someone’s got to come to work and do it.”