When it comes to helping people in the Keys, Chief Brandenburg is focused on service

Keeping the police force well-trained and maintaining enough officers are just two of the priorities of the Chief.

Key West Police Chief Sean Brandenburg joined Good Morning Keys this morning on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM to talk about what’s been going on in the city. 

With the recent national shootings — in a Walmart in Virginia and an LGBTQ Club in Colorado Springs — it’s important to remain vigilant anywhere. 

Chief Brandenburg said, “It serves as a time to remind us that we are just blessed to live and work in such an amazing community where we have such a strong community policing effort and our police partnerships I think in Key West and the Keys are stronger than most places in the nation. We stand ready to deal with anything that may come our way.” 

In Colorado Springs, a trained military member tackled the shooter and saved a whole lot of people. 

Chief Brandenburg said, “Training is key and we’re lucky again here in Key West we have such a huge military presence if something were to kick off in a public place, you have our off duty officers, you have our on duty officers and we also have all our military partners that are trained to react to situations like that appropriately. The training is certainly key.” 

In fact, Key West puts on a Run, Hide, Fight model for an active shooter. 

Chief Brandenburg said, “For the general public, the first option is to run. If you’re not able to run, then find a secure place to hide and barricade yourself in. As a last resort, you fight and you use whatever means necessary to fight. We try and put out the same message. We partner with our friends at the FBI. We have some amazing and training for citizens that aren’t trained in responding to those incidences hands on. So it’s just a great opportunity for anyone in the community.” 

The Lime Tree Food Mart had a recent situation when there was an armed gunman in the store. 

Chief Brandenburg noted, “That just goes to show you the amazingly fast response time we’re going to have in Key West from law enforcement. Knowing the officers that were on scene, myself, they came from all areas of the agency and everyone converged on that in a matter of moments and were able to bring that to a peaceful resolution. The folks inside certainly played a key role in helping us make sure that ended safely without any loss of life.” 

The Key West Police Department, Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission all graduated 20 new officers recently. Seven graduates were for the Key West Police Department. 

Chief Brandenburg pointed out, “No where in the state has FWC, the county and the city paired up for this initial academy before. So I was very proud to be a member of this first time event and I hope we continue that partnership, we build these bonds in the academy and I hope our friends from FHP jump on board and send recruits through that way.” 

Seven officers received their badges during the graduation. They’re going through some in-house training to apply the knowledge that they gained. 

Two new hires are already in the field training program. 

Another job offer is out there. 

Chief Brandenburg said, “That’ll put me up to 11 new people coming out on the road in the near future. In the next three to four months, those 11 should be out there in the cars helping to patrol our streets, which will greatly improve our manpower issue.” 

There are still openings in the dispatch center. 

Chief Brandenburg said, “I’m guessing the next academy will start in May. So I’m already recruiting people to go to that academy, have funds set aside to pay for them to go to that academy.”

Five to seven officers are out for injuries or on Family Medical Leave Act. 

Chief Brandenburg said, “Even with all that, in the next four to six months, the future looks brighter for us, so I’m very excited about that.” 

Three dispatchers in training have passed the state exam. 

Chief Brandenburg said, “The only two to graduate with honors were from the Key West Police Department, so we have some very trained and professional dispatchers in there. We have a minimum staffing level that we have to keep and we do keep that minimum staffing member, but here’s a holiday example. If you’re trying to carry your Christmas tree in by yourself or you’re trying to carry your Christmas tree in with three people, it’s a lot easier. We had enough people to carry the Christmas tree, but it’s going to be a lot easier with all these new people out on the road and we’ll be a little more proactive with our policing effort. I do have a plan for the next two years to add three more positions. I’m looking forward to that and getting our numbers back up to continue to provide the level of service our citizens deserve.”