Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the city.
The KWPD is serious about keeping school zones safe.
Chief Brandenburg said, “We have officers out. We kind of move around to keep people guessing. But we do have our motor units in the school zones actively enforcing those 15 mile an hour zones. So as you’re transitioning through those school zones, definitely slow down. It could be a very expensive lesson.”
Canvassing of certain areas can happen at any time.
Chief Brandenburg said, “We did this before COVID. We did it quite frequently. We call it a STAR night. It’s a Strategic Traffic Accident Reduction night. It’s been going on for a very long time. The last time we did it, we had several unmarked cars out. We had all the motorcycles out, we had all four of our canines out, a number of officers in marked units as well. We will canvass the island and all those different traffic infractions that we hear so much about every week, we go out and we actively enforce those. The last one, I think they were out for five, six hours, and I think they made over 125 traffic stops. So they are out there really enforcing those traffic violations that everybody seems to notice.”
A burglary arrest was made recently by KWPD.
Chief Brandenburg said, “This week, around four o’clock in the morning, there was a location broken into in the 800 block of White Street. The place had very good video cameras and they were able to play back the video of the individual that had broken in to the location and stole about $1,500 in merchandise. One of our former detectives who’s now back on the road was the initial officer called out to that. So with his investigative background, he was able to put together a really solid case real quick, he was able to email out to his fellow shipmates a picture of the individual that had broken into this location. Officers immediately recognized this individual someone that they had contact with and were able to identify him and get that information out. Then they worked together as a shift and before they went home for the day, they had him in custody, and were transporting him out to the RR Bed and Breakfast for the burglary charges. So good job to that team.”
Inter-agency cooperation is big in the Keys.
Chief Brandenburg said, “On the 12th, the Key West Police Department special investigations unit along with our SWAT team, and then agents from Homeland Security Investigations, executed a search warrant in the 3200 block of Pearl Avenue. Once inside, they were able to find cocaine, drug paraphernalia, drug packaging equipment, and cash that we believe to be the proceeds of illicit narcotic sales. (The resident) was arrested and is facing charges of trafficking in cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia and child neglect. Over an ounce of powder cocaine was seized inside the residence as well as that $1,500 in proceeds from narcotic sales. So yeah, definitely work together. That’s just one example of the many, many times that we work together. We could not get everything done without our partnerships with the sheriff’s department, especially Florida Highway Patrol, and all our federal partners down here in Key West. We have all of our detectives, are task force officers with different federal agencies, whether it be Homeland Security, DEA, US Marshals, we have FBI, we have detectives that are directly linked to all those federal agencies, and also that links us to their resources as well. So whenever we have something here, especially, big events like Fantasy Fest, or New Year’s Eve, I have crime analysts with the different federal agencies that are able to track social media, and the chatter on the dark web or wherever it might be, and alert us, should there be anything we really need to be concerned about. So those partnerships go a long ways, and a lot goes on in the background that maybe the citizens don’t see, but certainly helps us all be safer in our community.”
The Fantasy Fest zone was highly supported by KWPD.
Chief Brandenburg said, “Myself and the fire chief, we discussed it and for as long as I’ve been here we’ve had a Fantasy Fest zone. It helps us to control and direct the party goers that want to partake in the heavy partying and keep them in a concentrated area where we can handle them and deal with them and keep our resources where they’re going to be. If we didn’t keep them in one location it could spread out and then it could spread my resources thinner than I would like for them to be. So this way, we have the resources where we need them and anyone that is outside of that zone that wants to partake in those types of activities, we can direct them to the zone and keep them hopefully out of the neighborhoods.”
Resources need to be acquired and upgraded for the KWPD and the bond issue coming up on the November ballot will help.
Chief Brandenburg said, “We’ve lumped the public safety part of the bonds into one area. Fire station three, there’s no doubt everybody understands that that building was built, I believe back in the 70s and it is in dire need of replacement. So that is probably the top concern of the public safety bond. Not only is it going to improve the fire facilities, it’ll also provide office space and they’re going to share some of the base space for me to be able to put some of my patrol cars in and out of the weather during hurricanes. Then as far as for the Key West Police Department and fire station one year on North Roseville Boulevard, I’ve kind of outgrown my space here. I need additional room for storage, especially of evidence. The number of pieces of evidence that we bring in is quite incredible. I also need places to store large pieces of evidence to securely store things such as cars that are involved in fatal crashes and sometimes you have to keep those for many, many years. So I need a location where I can securely store things like that. Also during the last hurricane, we were feeding about 200 first responders out of our police station, and we were doing that with a regular household stove and a couple of griddles and regular refrigerator and a bunch of coolers and I need to put in an industrial sized kitchen area to be able to feed that many first responders in the event of the next natural disaster or next emergency situation. I also would like to put in a bunk room type situation, the sheriff has had much success with that. I could use it in the way that he does or during hurricanes, I would not have to rely on the generosity of our local hotels to house our first responders. Also, I really do not want to put all our first responders in one building in one location, because should that building suffer a catastrophic failure, that all the first responders will be injured or perish in that incident, so we’d like to spread the first responders out during a storm or a natural disaster. So this would give me an independent structure that’s another CAT five building right here on the property, where I could house several first responders and be able to feed a large number of first responders, I’d take care of some of my evidence storage needs, and also add some additional office space. So that would be extremely beneficial to me, I’d like to upgrade and possibly add an incredible amount of solar power here. So I wouldn’t have to rely on generator power as much. Plus try and save the city some money throughout the year by powering my building with solar power. It’s imperative that when you have 200 first responders that the toilets flush, so I would really like to have a cistern here and I have not been able to put in a cistern yet and that would be part of my building project as well, put in a fairly significant cistern for both myself and fire station one so that we would have water and at least for the basic necessities during those storms.”
This was National Telecommunications Week.
Chief Brandenburg said, “I cannot say enough about how professional and outstanding the individuals that work in there are. Many of them have several years of experience. They’re all very highly trained and to be able to calm somebody down, that’s in a moment of crisis in person is difficult. Over the telephone, it’s a hundred times more difficult. These folks are able to use their resources, their training, their experience, and talk down the people and get the information the officers or the ambulance or the firemen need to get to where they are and get them the resources they need to help them with their crisis. So I just can’t say enough about how great those individuals are. We should appreciate them every day. But this is the week that we are able to really highlight them and support them.”
Michael Stapleford of KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM noted, “I also wanted to thank you, Chief, for your leadership in the department. I also want to commend your entire department for how they interact and help the public here each and every day, putting themselves in harm’s way and then also doing it in most cases very politely and even cheerfully at time. I think that really has continued to build goodwill between the public and the police department as well as the sheriff has been very successful in doing so on a countywide basis. You are very successful in continuing that example here in Key West. So we want to thank you for your service.”
Chief Brandenburg said, “Thank you, but again, it’s the men and women that are out there on the street every day that do such an amazing job that make me look good. I’m just I’m here trying to steer the ship, but those are the men and women that are out there, actually interacting more with the community, responding to these stressful events, dealing with their own stress themselves, and still conducting themselves in a professional and polite manner. I can’t thank them enough. They do a great job.”
What if people want to join the KWPD?
Chief Brandenburg said, “They could go to the city’s website. There should be a recruiting button there, you can contact the city’s HR over at City Hall, or you can contact my recruiter directly here at the Key West Police Department. That is Officer Danielle Gray. Her phone number is 305-809-1087. We are out on all the social media platforms with all that contact information. I have one opening in dispatch I believe right now, maybe two and I’m down to a few police officer spots. We’re about to send eight future police officers to the police academy, that’ll be starting very soon. We’ve got those eight individuals identified and selected. I have another officer starting next week that comes to us already certified. We went to a recruiting seminar or expo up in the Tampa area and we were able to recruit him to come down here. So we’re looking forward to getting him started. We have a few more people that are going through the training and we’re hoping to bring on board in the very near future. But yeah, definitely looking for folks that are already local, understand the housing costs, the living situation, the distance from the mainland, and all those other things that are a shock to people when they come down here to work. Always looking for local folks that would like to work for the city, and especially for the Key West Police Department.”
Letting people know what’s going on is a real goal for the KWPD.
Chief Brandenburg said, “One of my one of my big things here at the Key West Police Department, transparency to the media, transparency to the community. I have my public information officer sitting here across from me. I will tell you everything I can and a few things I can’t. So that’s very important to me and I think that helps build that goodwill and trust with the community and that’s how we’re able to solve a lot of crimes and keep everybody working together and on the same page.”