Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the city.
KWPD had a STAR Night Operation recently where 122 vehicles were stopped.
Chief Brandenburg explained, “On Friday night, we had one of our STAR nights which stands for Strategic Traffic Accident Reduction. In about five to six hours, we have kind of all hands on deck and go out and educate drivers on issues that they’re having. Don’t write as many citations. It’s more about an educational thing, but in the process, we usually end up taking some drugs or guns off the street as well. So we do have all the police canines working on that night. We have all the police motorcycles working that night, and several of us in marked and unmarked cars. So definitely all hands on deck, and everybody out there making traffic stops to educate the public about their driving habits and also reduce crime and hopefully reduce some of our traffic crisis.”
The crime rate in Key West has fallen over the years.
Chief Brandenburg said, “Overall, the crime rate here in the city of Key West dropped 10 and a half percent from when you compare 2024 to 2023, and the big drop for us was in violent crime. Violent crimes were down 25% compared to the year before. So very proud of that. Overall when a crime is committed in the city of Key West, 53.3% of the time we clear those calls. That is it comes to some kind of resolution, which is substantially higher than the state average of around 25%. We’re especially proud of the fact that violent crimes in 2024, if you commit a violent crime in Key West, 73% of the time, we solve that crime and bring it to resolution. So out of 412 violent crimes, 301 of those were cleared. So just a great commitment or testament to the dedicated men and women of the Key West Police Department, the outstanding job they do every day. Community policing plays a huge role in our continued success in solving crime. We cannot solve the crimes we do without the partnerships we have with the community, as well as our law enforcement partners at the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, Florida Highway Patrol, FWC, and our federal partners, it’s just all of us one big team down here solving crimes and making it a safer place to come live, work and visit.”
Is there anything specific that reduces the crime?
Chief Brandenburg said, “I think it’s a mix of things that are combined to do that. Again, the partnership with the community, the community policing, is paramount in our solving of crimes. Also, we have brought a few more people on. You will see about 12 new faces hitting the street here in the last few weeks. Those officers have finished their academy training and then have gone through an extensive field training program, and now they’re being released to the street on their own. We are moving some people around, making some changes in our staffing that I think should be able to better engage the public and fight crime. It’s a multitude of things. And again, the dedication. I am amazingly blessed to have the team I do down here. They do an amazing job. Last night, I was at the Taste of Key West, and I got stopped multiple times and told about how our officers have gone above and beyond, whether it’s lost property, stolen bicycles, just anything that anyone’s had an encounter with the police department. I got stopped many times last night and told just how amazing the officers out there every day are. I’m very blessed and very lucky to have an amazing crew that goes out there and gets the job done every day.”
Michael Stapleford of KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM pointed out, “Those officers are tremendously dedicated and put themselves in harm’s way, as we know, each and every day. But also I want to congratulate you and give you the credit due for the leadership and the morale that you set for your department each and every day as well.”
Chief Brandenburg said, “Thank you, but again, it’s nothing I’m doing it. It’s the men and women that are out there every day doing a great job.”
Three KWPD officers recently won a life saving award as the result of a 911 call where a woman reported her husband unresponsive – officers Michal Brablc, Gaby Abreu, and Michael Beerbower.
Chief Brandenburg said, “Officer Brablc was the first on scene. He immediately recognized that it was a bad situation. Acting as he was trained, he checked for a pulse and breathing, and the individual was not breathing, did not have a pulse. He pulled the man from the bed, placed him on the floor, on a level surface, got his life saving equipment. While he was doing that, Officer Beerbower arrived on scene. Officer Beerbower began the chest compressions on the individual, working as a pair, Brablc started issuing life saving breaths as Officer Beerbower continued to provide chest compressions. Then Officer Abreu arrived on scene. She brought in her AED, which we carry in each of the police cars. She was able to get the AED out and apply those pads to the individual, while the other two officers continued the CPR. Our friends at Key West Rescue arrived and took over care. The individual was eventually flown to Miami for advanced treatment, and without hesitation, and using their teamwork and clear communication, these officers ensured that this individual did not succumb to his condition. So great job to all three of those officers, again, working as a team, getting the job done and saving a life.”
Officer Abreu also got a life saving award in a previous instance involving the Lower Keys Health System emergency room.
Chief Brandenburg said, “As you know she was the officer of the month for you and your radio station recently. She does an outstanding job in everything she does.”
Stapleford said, “We’re certainly more than happy to recognize exemplary officers. They do such great work.”
A routine traffic stop in Key West resulted in a significant cache of firearms, ammunition and materials consistent with the manufacturing of explosive devices.
Chief Brandenburg said, “This goes to show there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop. This was a traffic stop for an individual speeding down Flagler Avenue. One of our motor officers made this traffic stop. During the traffic stop, he noticed that there was a loaded short barrel AR 15 type rifle in plain view in the passenger side of the vehicle. The rifle only had a seven and a half inch barrel, which makes it a federal regulated firearm requiring proper registration. The individual admitted that he had modified the weapon and did not possess the necessary tax stamp for legal ownership, so he had also exhibited some signs of alcohol consumption. So we took him into custody, and also the rifle into our custody, and we sought out an RPO, which is a risk protection order. Those are issued by the courts in situations where an individual is believed to have firearms and is not in a condition where they should possess any firearms, ammunition, be able to buy, sell or possess any of those. So we were successful in obtaining that RPO, and we had information that he had additional firearms in his residence, so then we were able to seek out a search warrant for his residence. We executed that search warrant, and during that search warrant, we recovered approximately 20 firearms, over 10,000 rounds of ammunition, a pipe bomb, a multitude of electronic storage devices, an explosive investigation guidebook and chemical materials consistent with manufacturing explosives. Again, when we came across some of those items, we immediately stopped and called our friends at the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad. Had them come in and aid us in safely retrieving those items. This required yet another search warrant to be obtained, which it is not like you see on TV. It is not a five minute process. This is several hours of intense writing and describing what it is you intend to take and where you intend to take it from. It’s a real specialty to be able to craft one of those search warrants, and in this case, we were crafting our second one for the same residence. Again, the bomb squad came down once that second search warrant was obtained and was able to safely collect all the items that we needed. We have been in contact with special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and they are assisting us with our investigation and helping us determine what those materials all contained. But we do have him in jail currently on state charges that have bonds of $1.7 million.”
One person last week was stopped on a golf cart.
Chief Brandenburg said, “One of the people on the golf cart had an extraditable warrant from out of state for something involving prostitution. The reason the driver was driving a rented golf cart was because their vehicle was currently sitting in my seizure lot from a previous stop for narcotics as well, so we put them right back in jail this time. We gave the golf cart back to the rental company, but I still have their car. The canines have been busy, and again, getting those drug dealers off the street. We could not do it without the community support. I cannot encourage people enough to reach out to the police department if you see something, say something.”