Chief's Chat #36: Celebrating our Dispatchers & a New Mobile Command Vehicle

The calmest voice in the worst moment is often a 911 dispatcher, and we want to give that work the spotlight it deserves. Hosts Lisa Greenberg and Officer Mercedes Simonds sit down with Chief Anthony Sizemore for an episode of Cape CopCast 'Chief's Chat.'

We’re celebrating National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week and the communications team that answers the calls, guides the public, and supports officers from the first ring. We talk about why dispatchers are “the first first responders,” what wellness support and crisis intervention training (CIT) can look like behind the scenes, and why the new Golden Headset award is a meaningful way to recognize excellence. You’ll also hear the lighter side of the comms room culture, plus a hurricane story that proves dispatchers can run a headset and a crock pot at the same time. 

Then we dig into a big operational win: replacing our mobile command vehicle (MCV). We explain what an MCV is, why it matters at critical incidents, major events, and disasters, and how modern technology allows a smaller, more nimble platform. We also clear up common questions about asset forfeiture funding, what the law allows, why city council authorization was required, and how this approach helps us stay equipped without missing a beat. 

Transcript

Hellos Travel And Coffee Time

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Welcome back to another episode of the Cape Copcast Chief's Chat Edition. I'm one of your hosts, Lisa Greenberg.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

And I'm Officer Mercedes Simons. Together we make up the public affairs office. Good morning, Chief. Happy Friday.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Aloha. Welcome back.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

I know. Aloha. Look, it was awesome. Um, but to be honest, I don't recommend traveling with a one-year-old baby across like the entire continental United States with a six-hour time change. He was brave. Because let me tell you, he was a very good sleeper before.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Um, I don't have a one-year-old baby, so if I was traveling with one, it might be illegal.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

That might be a little weird.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:41

Hopefully, uh Drake uh catches up on the sleep and gets back on his sleep schedule because that's tough.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

We're still working on it, but we'll get there. It's fine.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

He's on Hawaii time.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

I know, right? He just wants to.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Are you still on Hawaii time?

SPEAKER_01 0:54

You know, I'd like to say I'm still on island time, but I think we have a pace to keep here to actually get things done. So instead, I'm on coffee time.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

We beat island time out of people.

SPEAKER_02 1:05

If you were on island time, no more.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Speaking of coffee time, I got my Cleveland police mug here.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Uh, we got a lot of people from Northeast Ohio in the Cape, so this is an ode to them. But this is a gift actually from a retired deputy chief, uh good friend of mine, uh Mike, and his father was a Cleveland police officer, and he gave me this as a gift.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

That's awesome. You know, my dad is actually from Cleveland, and I had never been, because he moved to Florida when he was like 12 years old. So I'd never been to Cleveland or anything like that. And I became best friends with someone who's from Cleveland. So the first time I ever went was to visit her. And it's just funny because my dad was from there, and they'd be like, You never went back to like visit where your dad came from. And my dad, once he became a Florida boy, he was like, Nah, we don't ever need to go back there. So we have family ties to Cleveland too.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

There's not much to do in the Midwest. Like I was born in Indiana, and there's just like Cleveland has the rock and roll hall of fame.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

Yep, that's their thing.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Which there's new inductees, I think. That's a whole nother podcast.

Celebrating 911 Dispatchers And Culture

SPEAKER_02 2:04

Yeah. We'll get into that another time. I guess we have some things we should talk about related to the police department today, huh?

SPEAKER_00 2:10

That's why people watch, right?

SPEAKER_02 2:12

Well, it is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which is really awesome. Um, we love lifting up and celebrating our telecommunicators whenever we can, our dispatchers, our call takers, all of that. Um, but it's nice to have a special week dedicated to those hardworking people.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

100%. Um, you know, we have police week in May, Victim Advocates uh week. There's everybody gets recognized, and this is one of the big ones. Telecommunicators week, which is 911 operators, dispatchers, everybody who the when you have an emergency and the police show up, the first person you talk to is a 911 operator or a dispatcher telecommunicator. So we like to celebrate what they do for us. They are the first first responders, and it's a big deal in this building for us this week. And we have something that is the inaugural right, that means the first ever Golden Headset award. That's awesome. And we're doing that a little bit later today. We're gonna be awarding a uh longtime employee for us that really embodies what what that job's all about. And her name is Sam Drake, and we are very fortunate, lucky to have her working for us. So that's gonna be fun.

SPEAKER_02 3:27

She's awesome. I'm super, super excited about that for her. That's awesome. It's cool that they're doing this award. I want to see the trophy. I bet it's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Is it actually a golden headset? That's what I'm thinking.

SPEAKER_02 3:38

It has to be, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:39

It better be. That's what we're calling it.

SPEAKER_01 3:41

The golden headset, maybe gold plated, but right.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Maybe not 24 karat or anything. But yeah, that's really awesome. It's super cool.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

Big shout out to her. And if you ever want to hear some good police stories, quote unquote, you know, you talk to a cop, but if you want to hear some great ones, talk to a dispatcher because they hear everything and they're on the line with them. Um, they they have the same stresses, you know. We we get them um CIT training or crisis intervention training. Uh, they're a big, big recipient of our wellness programs because they've earned it, and it's a it's a tremendous career. And Sam is just an embodiment of everybody in that room. So it's wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

It's also cute. They do little superlatives.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

I was gonna say they have they started the cute, like uh cute, maybe cutest isn't the right word, but I think it's the the cutest superlatives. Like they have way better titles for it. Check out our Facebook because we're gonna post them on there um with people's pictures, but they've got like fastest hyper, caffeine connoisseur, just different things like that that you know they have their they have their own community and culture within communications, and I think it's great to celebrate that.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

I'll give you a cool story. So Hurricane Ian was Hurricane Ian, right? And when everything's going on, and we're living in this building, and then Milton is another one, um, dispatchers do an all call and they live here. And when they live here, they bring the crock pots, and there's homemade soups and stews and chilies, and they they've got talent. We should probably have like a cooking contest. That'd be awesome. They would rival a lot of people. They're they're phenomenal. Find your way into dispatch if we ever have a another incident like that. You'll you'll be fed well.

Mobile Command Vehicle And Funding

SPEAKER_02 5:32

The incredible work they do, whether it's with a crock pot or on a headset. They're great. We love our dispatchers. So big shout out to them, not just this week, every week. Every week, every week, of course. Another big win that we had is we got our mobile command vehicle, vehicle, right? I'm like, is it unit, vehicle, mobile command vehicle?

SPEAKER_01 5:54

We have so many acronyms. It's really hard to keep things.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

MCV.

SPEAKER_01 5:57

Yeah, we call it our MCV.

SPEAKER_00 5:59

All right. So, what is an MCV? Why is it important to you, the resident? Um, what was the navigated path that we did to be able to acquire this new or this replacement? It's not a new asset for us. We've had a mobile command vehicle, I believe, well over 20 years. I think uh early 2000s is when we got the current one. Um, and just the ongoing operating and maintenance of it, there's a there's a scale, and when the maintenance starts to creep up, it's time to move on from an asset because you're you're pumping a lot of money into it. And the technology is is old. We've upgraded the technology a couple of times, but you hit a wall where you can't do that anymore. So, long story short, we need a new one. Now, um, good organizations plan, but great organizations have contingencies and are nimble and are able to maneuver to still accomplish the goal. And I'll tell you why that's important. So when we do budgeting, and we talked about it on the podcast before, we don't just come up with something year by year, we forecast out. So the need for replacement by the schedule of maintenance and and the wear and tear, we knew by fiscal year 26, which it began on October 1st of 2025, is when we were going to execute that replacement. So it was three or four years before that is when we put it into the budget to start planning for it. And at the 11th hour before we fully engaged fiscal year 26's budget for the overall city, uh, it was cut. And that's not a big deal. That that's not uh taking a shot at anybody. That is the realities of municipal budgeting. There are things that that are in that have to be reduced to in to balance the budget, and we are one component or one spoke on a very large wheel. So when there are cuts that need to be made or in order to balance a budget, uh, we play our part. So that is an item that was removed. Now, even before it was removed, the technology just across the globe is advancing. And this the MCV space is no different. So we were already identifying a way to go smaller, leaner, meaner, um, more navigable, um, to be able to be better used. So we were already looking to to find a better platform. When you think of technology advancements in 20-something years, it's been quite quite a jump. So when that got cut, the one thing that doesn't get cut or removed is the need. So that's why I talk about good organizations plan, great organizations have contingency. So our contingency is to identify alternate funding for it. Now, when we decided to go with a smaller platform, then the prices reduced. So we were able to find a reduction in price, number one, and number two, we utilized a funding source called forfeiture. And what forfeiture is, there's two different kinds. There's state and federal. And forfeiture is essentially seized criminal assets. So if you make a big case and you seize money or you seize property and you're able to auction that property, you get money into an account. And the um state law has uh limited ability for you to do it. You can't plan a birthday party with seized criminal assets, but you can acquire technology, you can acquire um things, right? Right to further your mission. And that is exactly what this is. So when the budgeted funds were reduced or were eliminated, we pivoted and we identified another funding source, and we move forward so we don't miss a beat, so you um can rest assured that your police department has the equipment to be able to operate. And what what is the operation for that? The operation for that, if you work in an office, you have all of your tools at your disposal. So when you're taking a phone call or doing a project, doing it in your office is much you're much better at it than you are mobile in the field with your cell phone, and you can get the job done out there like that, but you you are much more efficient with your tools from the office. An MCV is taking the police department headquarters, your office, to the job site. So if we have a critical incident, which we have our share, to be able to effectively police and execute what needs to be done, you are so much better having those tools and having the ability to ability to acquire technology in real time, a link to our real-time intelligence center, uh having command people there with essentially an office, the headquarters, you're that much better to be able to manage a large-scale incident, especially one that unfolds either rapidly or long term. So you can you can have a sustainable um footprint on an incident. And that's not a new concept, that's something we've had for a generation here, and this is just a new, modern um keeping up with the times and being on the forefront, which is what we try to do in any aspect of what we do, is to be a leader in the field, to be a head and and a driver in the profession. And we were able to do that, and it was a big win. The re it went before a city council vote. Uh and let me just explain uh just for a second why that happened. The city council uh uh uh entrusts the city manager to manage the day-to-day operations, and the city manager entrusts me uh to administer and run the police department. So uh developing the need, researching the need, uh, and and moving all the way to acquisition of things is what you pay me to do. Uh the reason it it went before city council is one of those provisions in the law is that when you're going to use uh either state uh forfeiture funding or federal forfeiture funding, the uh sheriff would go to the board of county commissioners, a police chief would go to the municipal elected body, which in our case is a city council, uh, and you uh receive permission to uh use those funds. It wasn't a vote on do you need that or who are you to decide. That that's not the relationship that we have. They they have trust in what we do. It was a statutory requirement to be able to expend that portion of the funding.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

It's essentially like a check.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Yeah, I was gonna say and to ensure that it and it gets vetted by the attorney's office that we are using this money. Is it in accordance with state law? Yes, it is, and then you have to go and say we are going to use this money for a project or an initiative or something that meets the requirements outlined in the statute. So very simple process. Uh, there's a lot of confusion with that. Um, from are we using taxpayer money? Even if we were, that is what taxpayer money is for. For it, but we were not. We were we found an alternate source. And as to why we needed it, I I think we explained that. And um that that was the purpose of the the resolution at the most recent city council meeting was not the why, it was the um authorization to use federal C's criminal asset forfeiture funding.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

And they approved it. And they approved it. And it's also, you know, people want to know what it's used for. Obviously, there's the crime scenes, the large crime scheme, uh large-scale crime scenes. There's the events, red, white, and boom. There's um or other events, there's, you know, god forbid there's any other type of critical incident within the city. That's what these are used for. So again, this is just another way that we can better serve our community, do a better job in the field than if we didn't have it. And that's why it was so necessary. And it's interesting too, because a while back we did a podcast episode about forfeiture money, what it's used for. And this is just a prime example of one of the reasons, you know, it's not like we, like you said, throw a birthday party with it. We use it for things that the department needs.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

So we talked about it, and voila, here's a good example. And if we did a party with that money, it would probably be my going away party because I would be fired or probably a lot of trouble. So no. Um, and people see an MCV most of the time, unless you've experienced a critical incident or are had something happen in your neighborhood. The m majority of time you see it is at like a red, white, and boom or bike night. It's not there for show and tell.

unknown 14:39

No.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

It is there because it is being utilized for the safety and security of a large-scale event. If we have a critical incident in a neighborhood, it will be deployed for that. Um, if there's you name it, uh natural disasters, man-made disasters, um, anything like that is what that's for. And it's exactly what I talked about before. It's having all the tools and the ability to be robust like you would in your office on a scene.

SPEAKER_02 15:06

Absolutely. It's exciting. I'm excited to see it. Yeah. I bet it'll be pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

I think so.

Law And Order Ball Finalists

SPEAKER_02 15:11

We have Law and Order Ball tomorrow night. Right. Yeah. That's right. Two awesome officers as finalists.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

And I think we talked about this before. This is every police department or law enforcement agency in uh Southwest Florida, or at least Lee County.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

And we can nominate usually about four or five, you can nominate each department. So there's a lot of nominees. And then they're read by a panel um established by the rotary, and they take out any identifying agency or officer or deputy information. So it's just the merits of the story, and that gets whittled down to five finalists. So you could have 30 plus nominees, and they whittle those down in a blind taste test to five. And two of the five finalists are Cape Corps police officers. It's a great event. The community comes out strong uh to support. It is a law and order region. It is a back the blue and back the green region, and it's just a wonderful event. And I like the fact that the nominees are good for them, but when they bring their families, and the families get to see a different side of mom and dad. Oh, yeah. Right? Because nobody goes home and brags about what they do, at least to that degree. And then when you see them highlighted and hear the stories, it's really it's a special event and it's a a big uh reason why Southwest Florida is a great place to be.

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Definitely. We had the winner last year, so I'm excited to see if one of our two this year.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

I feel like at the very least, the two that we have are very good contenders, and I'm proud of them, regardless of winning or anything like that. We have such good representation with such genuine people that not only do things for our department, also do things for the community, which I think is what the Lawn Order Ball specifically targets.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

100%. And uh I have the ability to see some of the other nominations, and they're great too. Yeah. I mean, the uh the other three of the five, they're phenomenal. So we're well represented in this region. Our partners are awesome. We work well together, and no matter what we we're all winners here, is that what you're trying to say?

SPEAKER_02 17:28

It's true. Lieutenant uh Philomana of our community services bureau, he's awesome. And then canine officer Travis Harrison, who we've had on the podcast. So if you're curious about him, you can go back and listen to his episode. Uh his canine makes an appearance, who's also nominated for canine. Yeah, so it's a big, it's a big event. It's exciting, it's always awesome. So I'm looking forward to see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 17:51

A Lico Arena Saturday night.

SPEAKER_02 17:53

Woohoo!

SPEAKER_00 17:53

Gonna be fun. Gonna be awesome.

Final Thanks And Sign Off

SPEAKER_02 17:55

Yeah. Yes. Awesome. All right. Anything else, guys?

SPEAKER_00 17:58

Good for me.

SPEAKER_02 17:59

All right. Let's wrap it up then. Thank you so much for joining us, and we'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_01 18:03

Stay safe.