CRESCENT CITY, Fla. – A controversial proposal by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office to take over all law enforcement operations in Crescent City comes during a time when the entire city police department has been placed on administrative leave.
The Crescent City Police Department’s entire force is on paid administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates complaints about officer training and certification irregularities.
The complaints were brought to City Manager Michael Esposito’s attention while he was searching for a candidate to replace former police chief Mark Carman. Carman retired after only 18 months on the job. His retirement came six days after a female police officer complained to Esposito about an incident in which she claims Carman was physically aggressive with her.
According to multiple documents provided anonymously to News4Jax, the female officer was with the chief at a store where there was a civil dispute involving an employee. While they were at the store, a third officer drove up and asked what was happening. In the written complaint, the female officer said that while she was talking to the third officer, Carman approached them and yelled, “I don’t need three officers here. Just go.” The female officer wrote in the complaint that the chief then firmly grabbed her by the arm and attempted to snatch her away from the third officer’s patrol car.
According to the documents, the female officer filed a written complaint to Esposito the next day. Days later, the documents say, Esposito contacted the female officer and told her that Carman had retired.
In a separate written complaint sent to someone who has not been identified, the female officer said there was never an internal affairs investigation opened regarding her incident with the chief. The complaint went on to say that Carman was allowed to retire without any misconduct in his file and could be hired somewhere else.
At some point during the search for a new police chief, Esposito received a complaint regarding officer training and certification issues that raised red flags. It’s unclear who brought up those issues, but it was a big enough problem to have the entire police department placed on administrative leave while FDLE investigates.
During Thursday night’s City Council meeting, Crescent City Mayor Michelle Myers explained to a packed room why this was an issue of great concern. “If your certification is not up to date and you make an arrest or if you have an incident, then you have to understand the liability that is there,” Myers said.
Putnam County Sheriff Gator Deloach was also at that meeting, where he proposed having the Sheriff’s Office permanently take over law enforcement operations in the city. He told News4Jax that last Friday, he received a phone call from Esposito about potential deficiencies in officer training within the city police department and was asked if the Sheriff’s Office could temporarily take over policing while the investigation runs its course.
“That led into the discussion of what kind of options they may have,” DeLoach said. “And one of the options we presented them was an opportunity to partner with the Sheriff’s Office to take over primary responsibility within the city.”
Having deputies take over all law enforcement duties in Crescent City would mean disbanding the city police department. If that came to pass, officers currently on administrative leave would have to apply to the Sheriff’s Office if they wanted to become deputies who patrolled their city.
“We hope that if this comes to fruition, that they will consider doing that and we will offer them preferential hiring opportunities assuming they meet the criteria of our office,” said Putnam County Chief Deputy Joe Wells.
The Sheriff’s Office and jail is a 30-minute drive from Crescent City, but the plan on the table is to use the existing police office as a Sheriff’s Office sub-station, so that deputies will always be near. During Thursday’s meeting, the Sheriff’s Office presented data that showed its agency solves crimes at a higher rate than the city police department. The presentation also focused on how the Sheriff’s Office has better tools for establishing crime patterns when it came to crimes such as theft and burglaries.
Proposals by the Sheriff’s Office to take over policing in Crescent City are nothing new. In the past, the idea has come up but was shot down by the city council. This time around is different because the entire police force is on leave and officers are not allowed to even enter their own police building while under investigation.
News4Jax spoke with several residents who attended Thursday night’s meeting to get their take on the current proposal. Reaction to the proposal was mixed.
“We’ve live here since 1976 and this has been a recurring issue,” Linda Delaney said.
“I think as long as we get effective law enforcement, it doesn’t matter where it’s headquartered. Whether it’s local or with the county,” said Dr. Kevin Jordan,
“This is the best thing for our area and much needed,” added Debbie Faivre.
“We need our local people that we know and trust,” Kathleen Ashley said.
DeLoach acknowledged trust is an issue. But he said city residents should not view his deputies as outsiders because many of them are already familiar with the city and its residents based on past patrols and cases.
Mayor Myers said it could take several city council meetings to determine what direction the city will take when it comes to the future of its law enforcement.