Cape CopCast
Welcome to "The Cape CopCast," the official podcast of the Cape Coral Police Department.
Hosted by Officer Mercedes Simonds, and Lisa Greenberg from our Public Affairs team, this podcast dives into the heart of Cape Coral PD's public safety, community initiatives, and the inner workings of our police department. Each episode brings you insightful discussions, interviews with key community figures, and expert advice on safety.
Cape CopCast
Chief's Chat #12: Child Abduction & Juvenile Armed Robbery Updates, and Hiring 911 Operators
In this episode of the Cape CopCast 'Chief's Chat,' we're talking about the child abduction investigation and the 13-year-old arrested for armed robbery.
Hosts Lisa Greenberg and Officer Mercedes Simonds sit down with Chief Sizemore to discuss the role of social media in alerting the public of an incident, the importance of prioritizing accuracy and confirmed information while remaining timely in communicating with the public, and the collaborative efforts among law enforcement agencies.
We also shine a spotlight on the unsung heroes behind the scenes—911 Operators and Telecommunicators. From managing emergency calls to providing life-saving guidance, these men and women are integral to public safety. For those considering a career in law enforcement, we delve into the opportunities available right after high school, highlighting paths that lead from telecommunication roles to becoming a police officer. With full-time benefits, career advancement, and educational support, a rewarding journey in public safety awaits those eager to serve.
To learn more about career opportunities, go to: www.CapeCops.com
Welcome back to another episode of the Cape Copcast Chiefs Chat Edition. I'm one of your hosts.
Speaker 2:Lisa Greenberg and I'm Officer Mercedes Simons. Together we make up the Public Affairs Office and today we have the Chief.
Speaker 3:Oh man, what a week it's been a busy week.
Speaker 1:We've had a few different kind of high profile situations happen, so we figured it'd be kind of a good day to jump on here and talk about that kind of have like a little breakdown. First things first. We had that child abduction situation that happened Monday. It got a lot of attention. Obviously, anytime we deal with anything with children it gets a lot of attention.
Speaker 3:These cases. They're scary, right. When you hear a kidnapping of a two-year-old child, you know all of your imagination goes to the worst possible situation, quite often as a lot, of a two-year-old child. All of your imagination goes to the worst possible situation Quite often as a lot of people chimed in when we put the story out oh, this is familial, this is the dad, he's not getting custody, and everybody jumps to conclusions, right, what helps us solve cases today is the rapid proliferation of information. Right, that's a mouthful. A lot of stuff gets out really fast and a lot of people share it and spread it. But the truth is a little bit slower. Sometimes the actual story falls behind the speed of some of the stuff that goes out. So there's just a high firehose of info that gets shared in the community digitally. Most of it's digital nowadays. That's not always true and accurate. So this was a case where there was a violent act in the city of Fort Myers where a couple that were dating this is all public stuff, some I won't be able to get into, but there was a domestic violence situation and the male half of the the relationship grabbed uh, the child that, from what we're being told, is not his child, but familiar to him because of the relationship, and fled and fled into cape coral. So gone from a within lee county, the city of fort myers, into the city of cape coral. That information gets relayed to us, we jump in immediately to start helping our partners because the health and welfare and safety of a child or any crime victim is paramount. Jurisdictions don't matter and we don't wait until that happens to have a plan in place. If you're in an emergency situation trying to plan, you have failed. Take a timeout, look at yourself and go. I failed. So what you do is we have a mutual aid agreement that's been in place for many, many years to get updated all the time the sheriff's office, the police departments, regional that when it's already laid out that we help each other, we have the ability to help each other. So we go to the area where they're at, we're getting information.
Speaker 3:One thing to understand people were why isn't there an Amber Alert immediately? You have to have certain criteria to trigger an Amber Alert and it ultimately did. But in the beginning all of the boxes weren't checked and it's not up to us or up to local law enforcement to enact it. It's a Florida Department of Law Enforcement or FDLE enacted action and you have to meet these thresholds or it just cannot happen. And, like I said before, not everybody in this situation was a saint and the information that we were getting was not the whole truth or the entire complete picture or just flat out false. So it was difficult to sift through that to get exactly what happened, all while you're trying to find this two-year-old. Thankfully, at the end of the day, the two-year-old was located.
Speaker 3:Fort Myers PD is actively working the case from the original incident on De Leon Street in Fort Myers, but just the teamwork involved. A matter of fact, I got a letter from Jason Fields, who's the chief of FMPD. I know Chief Fields very well and he took the time out of his busy day to write a lengthy letter complimenting us and, in particular, people in our Investigative Services Bureau that immediately jumped in and helped. So it's really nice to know that when things are going down, all the other stuff goes to the side, and law enforcement and the county was here too Lee County Sheriff's Office, cape Coral PD, fmpd the sheriff likes to say it all the time Different badges, different patches, doesn't matter. Same family, same mission. And it was excellent.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. I was on scene and it was great hearing all the phone calls going back and forth between agencies and different people on scene. And it was, you know, make sure, hey, whatever you need we've got you, because we all have different assets, different resources. You know, even just canines can be different from agency to agency and that's really helpful to have people and agencies that are so on board with each other to make sure that, regardless of any sort of jurisdiction or lines, that we're getting this two-year-old taken care of For sure, and you're going to need help eventually.
Speaker 3:They needed help, so you step up and help. It could be today, it could be right now, during this podcast. Out on the street, we need help Right and when you need help, you need it. You're not suggesting, you're not maybe. No, I need help because lives are at stake and, without a doubt, Absolutely Definitely.
Speaker 2:One of the other cases that we put out this week was actually a juvenile we ended up arresting for armed robbery, which is very serious. It was a very evolving situation. We had two different scenes, both of which ended up involving this juvenile who had a firearm. We put out something initially just to let you know, hey, we have increased presence at this park, and then we were able to kind of roll off our investigation from there. But just putting the information out, letting the public know that you know we're working through this, we're making sure everybody's safe, and putting out the truth first, the facts that don't change is really what we try to put out and make sure that exist, and then we can dive into further detail later in the investigation. That's really important.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's, it is important. So when we're becoming a more dense and urban populated city, right and I mean that in the sense that you see what's going on, right, it's not not rural, you're in the middle of the city. There's a lot of police that show up on a scene and people are like what in the world's going on? Immediately, information starts going out. What is that? What's going on? And they want to know. Some people will call, but most people don't. They just start to speculate or wonder or worry, right? So if we're a two-way conversation from the police department to the community and back and forth, we feel an obligation to put out what we can put out as soon as we can. So the first thing we do hey, everybody, yes, there is an increased police presence, we're aware of it. We're working something. Please know if we could put it out or if we can vet it and know that it's true, it will go out. So let's just say, for example, there's a bunch of police cars on Santa Barbara, at the Jason's Deli Plaza, across from Cape Coral High School During the day. People are going to assume that something's happening, maybe at the school, or it will worry people If we get one piece of information that says, yeah, I saw something happen over there and we immediately put that out and it's not true and we got to redact it. Hey, sorry about that, that wasn't true. We got another piece and put that out. It becomes too much and then all of a sudden you guys aren't reliable. I don't even know what you're talking about. Slow down and do it right. In the past, before we had the two-way communication that we have now, nothing would have went out until you read the paper the next day, or maybe you saw it on the 11 o'clock news that night after we talked to the news. So we have a very rapid, interactive way to put stuff out.
Speaker 3:But it's not everything all at once. It's got to unfold. So on this particular incident, there's a police presence. We put it out Okay, something's going on. Then we know what's going on.
Speaker 3:There was a robbery. Kid got robbed at gunpoint for his electric scooter. And if you're a parent and you have your kid out there on a scooter or a bike or just being out safe, playing in their city, and to have another juvenile come up and take it at gunpoint, that's a serious charge. So we start getting that information. What happened. Who was this? And then, real quickly, we were able to determine who it was, based on prior actions by that kid. Meanwhile, there's another incident unfolding, not too far. Is it related? We don't know. It ended up being that, but in the instant that it was happening, where this kid was trying something else, at a popular softball field, burton Softball Field there's a lot of people there, a lot of parents there, and some good Samaritans jumped into action, thankfully, and hey, get over there. Our officers responded, start to unfold what happened here. And then, hey, I think this might be the same thing. Meanwhile, there's a lot of stuff going on online. What's going on? What's happening? Nobody's telling us anything.
Speaker 3:We're working it, it, we're figuring out what happened and then, once we know for sure what happened, you measure twice, cut once, right, right get the information correct and then put it out. The last thing you want to do is put something out, worry, panic or falsely say the circumstances, and then have to go back and retract it and then put it out.
Speaker 3:You do more damage that way. So I'm proud of you guys for getting the information out. I'm proud of the fact that we do have that two-way communication with the community, not two-way with everyone individually. You put out a post and you have 400 comments. You can't answer every single one. Do the best you can. A lot of that is you start the conversation and people will communicate amongst themselves. Most of it's good, some of it is comedic and some of it is sad, but that's what community conversations are for and that's why we have our comments open for people to use the digital town square.
Speaker 3:Here's the topic go and if we belong to it or can contribute to that conversation. We will, but not always, and the important thing is we get the information out as soon as we can, but responsibly.
Speaker 2:Right, we're a very transparent agency. We put out what we can, we tell you what we can, and a lot of transparency, you have to remember, comes from the drive for protecting public safety. If there is an area that is in danger, it is our job to make sure that you know to avoid that area. That's not us hiding, you know, like a dangerous crime that happened in Cape Coral. We're putting out that there's increased police presence. We'll let you know what's going on later, if we can, and that's just kind of how we love to handle that situation.
Speaker 3:I'm not on the payroll for realtors to make the community look better. I have no incentive to hide anything that's going on. It is what it is good, bad. That's internal communication. That's external. If we do it right, we're going to tell you. If we make a mistake, we're going to tell you.
Speaker 1:For sure. We already have issues with a rumor mill when it comes to the Facebook comments and people taking a situation and running with it and unverified news sources coming in and saying what they think happened. And then we have to go and say actually, you're completely wrong, please redact that. So that's another reason that we take that extra step to make sure. Say, for example, we put out that this robbery happened, we blast this kid's picture, say we're looking for him, and then it turns out that it's not the kid. We want to make sure that everything is perfect, we have all the accurate information, before we go and put things on blast and let the community know.
Speaker 3:We don't have the luxury to do what some do and some would. Oh, that's definitely this, that's an opinion you think that, and then, when it unfolds, you're way off. Well, that person's not going to come back and say I'd like to disclose that I made a mistake to everybody. We do Right.
Speaker 1:We're not in the I think business, we're in the I know business Exactly and that's what we put out, and I know we wanted to touch on to think of the police officers and all the detectives that are handling these cases.
Speaker 3:But it all starts any call starts with dispatch, and I know that we are looking for dispatchers to join our team as well. Oh, we sure are. And you look at the calls that we just talked about a kidnapping of a two-year-old brought in. That's a phone call that comes in right. They don't go directly to our officers on the street or our detectives in the detective bureau. That comes into our communication center.
Speaker 3:So it is out of a cannon, high intensity right from the 911, what is your emergency? Or Cape Coral Public Safety? How can I help you? Boom, there's a two-year-old my two-year-old's been taken, or my son just got robbed, or anything. There's a two-year-old my two-year-old's been taken, or my son just got robbed, or anything. There's a car I just drove by, a car that's flipped over and there's somebody hurt.
Speaker 3:It doesn't matter what it is. It's a serious situation and they're high octane from the very beginning. To bring them down, get the necessary information, get it into the computer, find out where the officers are the appropriate people Maybe that's an EMS call and you transfer it over to EMS. You listen to make sure it gets picked up and then feather out of it, right, or you're on with them, guiding them through CPR, calming them down through the entire situation until you can hear it on the phone. The officer's actually coming into the house. It's a tremendous group of men and women that work in there. They are the unsung heroes that you talk about, and we'd like to sing for them today, absolutely.
Speaker 3:They're awesome and we need more of them. Right, they need help. So one of the things we wanted to talk about is the fact that it's a job that people don't think about. It's a job that people don't think about. It's a great job. You work in the police department with us. There's benefits, full-time benefits, a retirement, a pension and there's career advancement within it. So you can get in right out of high school, graduate, come in and make really decent money and benefits. They're negotiating for even higher pay raise right now, so it's only going up. But you have the opportunity to really make a difference from day one and then you could go from a 911 operator to a full-fledged dispatcher running channels and running really a section of the city or the whole city. Then you can move up to supervisory roles and make a long-term career out of it. You also have the opportunity If you want to be a police officer.
Speaker 3:We need those too. Right, got to be 21. So if you're 18, you graduate high school and college isn't for you right away, and maybe the military isn't for you right away. You have options. Right, I want to be a police officer. You can go to college. Take that time from 18 to 21,. Get your 60 credits, get your associate's degree. Finish up your bachelor's degree. You could enlist in the armed forces, serve our country, earn the GI Bill and eat up that time until you're 21,. Come back and we'll hire you.
Speaker 3:Or if those don't appeal to you or they don't work for you. Some people may not have the circumstances or the availability financially to go to college or, due to home circumstances or whatever factors, aren't able to join the military. We are hiring and you can get a job at the police department as a telecommunicator or 911 operator. You're in the building, you're in the culture. You're smelling the smells, right, you're touching and feeling and part of the culture. You're smelling the smells, right, you're touching and feeling in part of the culture. You learn the radio system. You learn the computer system. You learn the culture. You learn the unspoken things that happen here. We have education reimbursement so you can go to college.
Speaker 3:Take your time. Take that 18 to 21 time span. Take your time. Take that 18 to 21 time span. Get the pension started. Get your city seniority going and earn a paycheck and go to take your classes. Have the ability to earn overtime, the ability to really make a career out of it, and you may find that you know what this is my calling. I'm going to stay here and make a career out of that, or you go to college. We do the reimbursement. Next thing you know you're 21, you got your associate's degree and we put you right in the academy and your career's already a couple of years ahead. So anybody that's looking to be a police officer at 18, you know what you want to do. You got everything ready and lined up, except your age. We got something for you and I would ask you to go to capecopscom and apply.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and we can put the link in the episode details on social media, on your podcast app and all of that stuff on YouTube as well. So we'll make sure that information is there too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely. I think it's a great opportunity for anybody who wants to advance and start here and then really skyrocket your career from there.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, Absolutely All right, Chief. Anything else for today.
Speaker 3:Have a great weekend everybody. We all deserve it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's been a long week, so let's go ahead and have a good weekend. Thank you so much for joining us today, and we will catch you next time.
Speaker 2:Stay safe.
