Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office
2007 EMPLOYEES OF THE YEAR
Sheriff Charlie Morris initiated yearly, quarterly and monthly awards for outstanding employees when he took office in 1997. Employees are recognized for their outstanding performance monthly, quarterly and yearly. Sheriff Morris is a firm believer in employee recognition. The 2007 Employees of the Year are Deputy Sheriff Matt Abbott and Crime Prevention Specialist Ashley Bailey.
Deputy Sheriff Matt
Abbott has
been selected by the supervisory staff as the 2007
Sworn Employee of the Year.
The Sworn Employee of the Year is chosen for his exceptional performance
and contribution to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy
Abbott started with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in February, 2006,
and is assigned to the Field Services Division.
Matt grew up drawn to law enforcement having a father in the profession.
He obtained his BA Degree in Criminal Justice and quickly went to work.
He served three years as a Communication’s Officer with the Fort Walton
Beach Police Department and joined the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Posse as soon
as he was eligible. Obtaining
a sworn position with our agency was a goal achieved, but he obviously does not
intend to slow down.
Deputy
Abbott is extremely motivated and competent, especially when considering his
tenure. He
exercises sound judgment and is always looking for something to do.
He has consistently performed far above average when compared to other
deputies. Consequently,
he has been nominated twice for Deputy of the Quarter.
In addition, he has received the Life
Saving Award and the Medal of Merit
this year for separate incidents worthy of such recognition.
Deputy Abbott has shown the highest level of activity on his shift in several key areas throughout the year. He handles more calls, arrests more suspects, and self generates the most activity on a continual basis. The average number of calls handled by a south patrol deputy this year was about 1,150 per unit. Deputy Abbott’s calls for the year totaled 2,522, well over twice the average. The average number of probable cause arrests by a south patrol deputy was about 31 per unit. Matt had more than three times the average with 110, more than any other Patrol Deputy. If you include his 62 warrant services, Matt rounded up 172 suspects and wanted persons this year. Due to his proficiency and efficiency, he managed to demonstrate this unmatched productivity in these and other areas without neglecting his reporting or case management.
Deputy
Abbott’s motivation and enthusiasm for the job is contagious and has spread
among his peers.
His success has not caused him to be arrogant or complacent. He
has attended at least five advanced and specialized training courses this year
and is always seeking ways to improve his already noteworthy performance.
Deputy Abbott’s drive and energy come from his desire to make a
difference in the community rather than attain notoriety or personal
recognition.
Deputy Abbott will continue to set the standard and raise the bar for
performance and productivity levels.
We
are proud to present Deputy Sheriff Matt
Abbott
as
the 2007 Sworn Employee of the Year and thank him for his exemplary
performance. Please
offer your congratulations to Deputy Morgan for his commendable achievement.
Ashley
Bailey has been
selected by the supervisory staff as the 2007
Non Sworn Employee of the Year.
The Non Sworn Employee of the Year is chosen for her exceptional
performance and contribution to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Ashley
started her career with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in November,
2004, and is one of our Crime Prevention Officers.
Ashley strives for perfection and is very driven to serve the community
to the best of her ability. Here are
a few of her accomplishments for 2007:
·
Ashley worked with the Information Technology Department to
implement the “Take
Me Home” Program. She
scheduled time at schools, churches, and other locations in order to take
current photographs and obtain necessary information on citizens in Okaloosa
County who meet the requirements of this program.
This program is for both adults and children with disabilities that may
render them incapable of telling law enforcement where they reside.
·
Ashley implemented CASE – Communities Against Senior Exploitation.
This program addresses Identity Theft, Telemarketing Fraud, Mail &
Internet Fraud, Home Improvement Fraud, Investment Fraud, Caregiver Explotation,
and Predatory Lending Scams. Ashley
has given many seminars on this program to the community.
·
Ashley also implemented the “Seniors Helping Seniors” program with tenacity and
commitment. This program was well
received in the north end of Okaloosa County.
·
Ashley continued her involvement in “Teen Court” and has taken several students under her wing.
These students are now doing well in school and have a more directed
purpose because of her efforts.
·
Ashley took on a “mentoring”
roll in order to help high school seniors achieve community service hours for
their college applications.
·
Ashley reviewed several telecommunication programs that check on
the status of the elderly or disabled daily.
She recently recommended that the Sheriff’s Office use the CARE
Program. This program is set
for implementation by the end of January, 2008.
·
Ashley also reviewed programs that other entities in our county
could use, such as Communities
for a Lifetime. While this
was not a project she could take on, it was one that she recommended to the
Board of County Commissioners to review to assist with making our county a safer
place to live, work, and play.
Ashley constantly demonstrates her willingness to serve the citizens of
Okaloosa County. She has continued
to assist deputies with their concerns by providing training at shift briefings.
She also assists the school resource officers with presentations on such
topics as bullying, internet safety for parents and children, and safety tips
keeping children from being abducted.
Ashley Bailey will be presented with an award commemorating her selection. We are proud to present Ashley as the 2007 Non Sworn Employee of the Year and thank her for her exemplary performance. Please offer your congratulations to Ashley Bailey for her commendable achievement.
Deputy Sheriff Shannon Tait has
been selected by the supervisory staff as the 2007
Sworn Employee of the Year Runner-Up.
The Runner-Up Sworn Employee of the Year is chosen for her exceptional
performance and contribution to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Tait started her career with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in April, 2005, and is assigned to Charlie Shift in the Field Services Division. In the short time since completing her field training, she rapidly attained the skills of a seasoned law enforcement officer. In December, Deputy Tait was selected to be a member of the Problem Oriented Policing Unit (POP Squad). Shannon is driven to do everything in her ability to serve the community. She strives for perfection and demonstrates the best traits of professionalism in all that she does.
During 2007, Deputy Tait served the community in the Wright neighborhood known as Zone 15, which is one of the busiest areas in the county. This area presents daily challenges to which Deputy Tait always gives her very best. This past year, Shannon investigated almost 1500 incidents. She generated approximately 184 offense reports with close to 60 of those cases being closed by arrest. In October, Shannon developed leads during the course of a burglary investigation which lead to the arrest to two business burglars. This investigation lead to the recovery of thousands of dollars worth of stolen property and the closure of several business burglaries. She was also responsible for the capture and arrest of approximately ten burglars in various other cases in 2007.
Deputy
Tait has been nominated several times for Deputy of the Quarter and this is the
second year in a row that she has been nominated for deputy of the year.
This in itself is quite an honor as Charlie Shift has many outstanding
members with a great many senior officers who have many years of experience.
Deputy Tait has demonstrated a dedication to her duties that has
consistently placed her above her peers on the shift.
Her enthusiasm is an example to her fellow members of the shift and her
commitment to her duties and professionalism has been noticed by more than just
her shift mates.
EMPLOYEES OF THE QUARTER
April 29, 2008
The Employees of the Quarter for the 1st Quarter of 2008 are Deputy Sheriff Frank Taylor, Deputy Sheriff Phillip White, and Communications Officer Audrey Bishop. The employees were commended during a ceremony which was held April 29, 2008.
Deputy Sheriff Frank
Taylor and Deputy Sheriff Phillip White
have been selected by the supervisory staff as the
Sworn Employees of the Quarter
for the 1st quarter of 2008.
The Sworn Employees of the Quarter are chosen for
their exceptional performance and contribution to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s
Office.
Deputy Taylor and Deputy White are currently assigned to
the D Shift South.
During late 2007 and early 2008, our county was plagued
with a significant number of home invasion robberies.
These robberies were violent and extremely
discomforting to the resident of our county.
Deputies Taylor and White were largely responsible
for identifying the perpetrators and ultimately ending these crimes committed by
separate groups.
Both incidents were textbook examples of how
effective an alert and motivated officer can make a difference.
Deputy F. Taylor
In the morning hours of January 24th, 2008,
members of D shift responded to a Home Invasion robbery in the Sylvania Heights
community of Fort Walton Beach.
This robbery was particularly violent requiring that
the victim be hospitalized from the severe beating he suffered at the hands of
the suspects.
A witness provided a generic description of a Budget rental
van seen in the area of the crime.
The description was broadcast to available units.
Deputy Frank Taylor was scouring neighborhoods in search of
a vehicle matching the description provided.
This was a particularly difficult task given the
time lapse and unknown direction of travel.
45 minutes after the incident was reported, Deputy
Taylor advised that he had found a van matching the description.
This may not seem notable on the surface and just
the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time.
However, it should be noted that the suspects had
taken great pains to conceal the van, backing it in between two mobile homes
placed parallel to the road.
The location and placement required astute
observation on Deputy Taylor’s part.
This was 3 minutes before the end of his shift which
then became much longer.
The van turned out to be the one used in the robbery and
resulting investigation revealed the identities of the two main culprits in the
string of violent crimes.
Deputy Taylor, taking his job very seriously, found
the evidence that ended this streak of violent events.
His attentiveness and commitment brought a halt to
this disturbing string of crimes.
Deputy Phillip White
On the night of February 2, 2008, members of D shift
responded to an Armed Home Invasion Robbery in Destin.
This was another in a significant pattern of such
events that had been plaguing our area.
This robbery was committed against a medically
disabled/retired Deputy Sheriff.
The suspects handled the victim roughly because of
his former status and stole his handgun during the commission of the crime.
A witness provided a general description of a red
car occupied by at least two black males.
The description was broadcast to available units.
Deputy Phillip White was aware that crowds of teens had
been using the Golden Age Club on Racetrack Road to congregate on weekends.
Feeling that the suspects might go there, he went to
investigate.
Upon arrival he observed a maroon car, occupied by two
black males, driving on the wrong side of Racetrack Road in order to shortcut
into an adjacent parking lot.
He broadcast his location and proceeded to stop the
car.
The two occupants fled on foot and Deputy White advised
responding units of their direction and description.
He had the presence of mind to stop at the suspect
car to look for evidence.
He noted evidence in the car tying the subjects to
the crime and advised converging units of the information.
He stayed to protect the evidence trusting his shift
mates to make the apprehension.
Responding units converged and physically apprehended one
of the subjects after a lengthy foot pursuit.
That suspect was still in possession of the ski mask
he had used in the robbery.
A subsequent interview and investigation resulted in
the apprehension of additional suspects who had been involved in this and
several other violent crimes.
Deputy
Sheriff Frank Taylor and Deputy Phillip White will be presented with an
award commemorating their selection.
We are proud to present them as
Sworn Employees of the 1st Quarter and thank them for their exemplary
performance.
Please offer your congratulations to Deputy Taylor and
Deputy White for their commendable
achievement.
Audrey
Bishop
has been selected by the supervisory staff as the
Non-Sworn Employee of the Quarter
for the 1st Quarter of 2008.
The Employee of the Quarter is chosen for her
exceptional performance and contribution to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s
Office.
Audrey started her employment with the Okaloosa County
Sheriff’s Office in August, 2000 and works in our Communications Center.
On February 29, 2008, Audrey was working Channel 4 and
received a message via FCIC from the Charlotte county Sheriff’s Office reference
a possible suicidal person in the District 4 area.
While creating the call for service it was
discovered the address would not verify in the CAD.
In addition, the phone number provided was not in
working order.
At that time Audrey began the coordination process
with Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office in an attempt to verify the address
provided and verify the phone number of the complainant.
After numerous phone calls between our agency,
Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Valparaiso Police Department, Niceville
Police Department, and then a 911 call from the suicidal person herself, an
address was finally verified, units dispatched and the situation resolved.
This is typical of Audrey’s performance.
She maintains composure during stressful situations
and continually goes that extra mile to ensure the job gets done correctly.
Audrey epitomized the term professional.
Her dedication to duty reflects credit upon herself
and our agency.
Audrey will be presented with an award commemorating her
selection.
We are proud of our nomination of
Audrey Bishop as Non-Sworn Employee of the Quarter and thank her for her
exemplary performance.
Please offer your congratulations to
Audrey Bishop for her commendable
achievement.
LIFESAVING & VALOR AWARDS
April 29, 2008
Lifesaving Awards: Trooper
Cary Hurst, Deputy Sheriff Jeff Morgan, Deputy Sheriff Matt Abbott, Posse Member
W. Lantz, Firefighter Richard Cook.
Valor Award: Sergeant Bobby Maloney
Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office
1250 North Eglin parkway
Shalimar, FL 32579
(850) 651-7410