The Lakeland Police Department's "Do The Right Thing" Program will hold its final bi-monthly awards ceremony for the school year on Thursday, May 1, 2008, at 4:00 PM in the Community Room at the police station. Learn more here.
The end of the year grand finale is scheduled for Thursday, May 29, 2008, at 7:00 PM at Lone Palm Country Club. The overall winner for the 2007-2008 school year will be announced at that time.
- Asst Chief Bill LePere
The torch of the Florida Special Olympics made its annual trek through Lakeland yesterday as law enforcement officers from Lakeland PD and other county agencies escorted the torch around Lake Hollingsworth Friday evening in the 2008 Law Enforcement Torch Run.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Torch Run, an annual event for Lakeland PD Captain Tom Day who served once again as coordinator of the run.
The run is designed not only to escort the torch across the state enroute to the annual games, but to raise funds for Special Olympics. The 2008 Summer Olympic games will be held May 16 - 17 in Orlando at the Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex and Champions Sports Complex. Over 2,100 athletes will compete in bocce, cycling, soccer, tennis, track & field, and volleyball.
We wish the very best to every Special Olympian who will fulfill their dream this year of competing in the Games.
- Asst Chief Bill LePere
Winners from the "Do the Right Thing" award program for March were announced during ceremonies yesterday at the police station. The overall winner was Devaisa Edmonds. Summaries of the students' efforts illustrate the consistent positive behaviors of doing the right thing. We congratulate each of them for their accomplishments.
Devaisa Edmonds – Devaisa is a senior at Lakeland High School. On Sunday, January 27, 2008, from his apartment window Devasia witnessed three young men viciously attack a man.The three culprits knocked the victim to the ground, kicked him, and stole his wallet.
In a social culture where “snitching” to police is highly frowned upon, Devaisa stepped up and showed Lakeland Police officers where the culprits were located and positively two of the three culprits which resulted in their arrest. Later in the day Devaisa became a victim himself when he was attacked by a family member of one of the culprits. In the attack Devasia’s eclectic scooter was damaged to the tune of $600.00. Yet again, Devasia stood tall and identified the suspect who attacked him, leading to that person's arrest.
Devasia stood up for what is right instead of giving in to pressure even though he became a target himself for coming forth to help solve a crime. It took a great deal of courage to do what he did. Devasia is a prime example of a young hero and how difficult it is to sometimes simply “Do The Right Thing!”
Ashley Haas – Ashley is a seventh grader at Crystal Lake Middle School. Ashley was “doing the right thing” when she welcomed a new student to class while all of the other students laughed and made noises.
Ashley volunteered to help the new student in class and helped her with questions. She also assisted the new student with assignments and her schedule. Ashley demonstrated “doing the right thing” and made good choices of a great leader. Thank you Ashley for your integrity and support!
Samantha Simon – Samantha is a fourth grader at Dixieland Elementary School. One of the students at Dixieland had to have surgery on her leg during the winter holidays and returned to school in a wheelchair. It was difficult for the student to negotiate the hallways and paths around the school.
Samantha stepped up to be the assistant that the recovering student needed so badly. Samantha pushed the student in the wheelchair to the lunch room and got her lunch each day. She assisted the student to other classes like art, music, computer lab, and the media center.
At the end of the school day Samantha got the student ready for dismissal, took her to the front of the school, and assisted her in boarding her bus. Because of the care and compassion that Samantha exhibited toward a fellow student, Dixieland feels she is deserving of the “Do The Right Thing Award!”
Angel Skaggs – Angel is an eighth grader at Southwest Middle School. On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, Angel became a hero. On this particular day one of Angel’s friends along with three other students from Southwest Middle decided to “get high on triple C’s”. Triple C is taking large amounts of over the counter cold tablets to achieve a “high”. The girls in question took an assortment of the cold tablets that were stolen from a grocery store the previous evening. The girls ended up overdosing and began to develop symptoms of slurred speech, inability to walk, and hallucinations.
Once Angel discovered what her friend and fellow classmates had done she immediately told a teacher and asked to speak with Officer Edwards, the School Resource Officer. Each of the girls had to be rushed to the emergency room for treatment. Fortunately, each of the girls was okay after they were treated and released from LRMC.
Although this day began like any other day, it was anything but ordinary. Angel Skaggs became a hero when she made a conscious effort to help save her friend’s life as well as three other girls. November 14, 2007, could have had a different ending resulting in the death of teenage girls, but due to the quick actions of Angel, she saved the lives of her friend and fellow classmates. Angel should be commended for her being responsible and “doing the right thing!”
Robert Stephenson – Robert is a seventh grader at Southwest Middle School. During the first week in January 2008, School Resource Officer Maddox was standing in front of Southwest Middle School monitoring dismissal. Mrs. Brown, the school’s receptionist, was speaking with Robert. Mrs. Brown informed Officer Maddox that Robert had reported to her that another student wanted to fight him. The boy even bumped Robert in an effort to persuade him to fight.
Officer Maddox had Robert identify the individual who wanted to fight him.The person identified as the one wanting to fight had six friends with him waiting for the fight to occur. Officer Maddox spoke with the young man in question, in front of Robert, and confirmed that he was going to fight Robert after school. Robert was very quiet and never reacted.
Because of the peer pressure that exists in school today, anyone could have succumbed to the pressure and fought. At times in front of your peers it is very difficult to resist peer pressure as you can be persuaded into doing the wrong thing. Robert chose the more difficult path and chose to tell an adult which kept anyone from being injured, suspended, and maybe even arrested.
Since the recent death of a classmate Robert now thinks twice about his own actions and realizes how quickly a simple fight can result in a tragedy. Robert is to be commended fro rising above peer and personal pressure and “doing the right thing!”
- Sgt. Melanie Dixon & Officer Wayne Skinner
The Lakeland police station was taken by storm last week as hundreds of teddy bears came to visit during the annual Teddy Bear parade. The bears were donated to the police department as part of a joint community service project between local Girls Scouts and the Kappa Delta sorority at Florida Southern College.
Close to 200 bears were added to our inventory of stuffed animals used as give-aways to children who find themselves in need of a little comfort and tender loving care during all sorts of crises.
We appreciate this generous act of kindness on the part of the Girl Scouts and Kappa Delta. It is always a treat to host such a friendly visit of bears, and monkeys, and just about every other type of stuffed animal.
Our thanks to everyone who participated in the invasion.
- Asst Chief Bill LePere
The Lakeland Police Department is pleased to announce Mr. Tim Abram is the new Executive Director of the Lakeland Police Athletic League. The public is invited to meet him at a social function on Tuesday, January 8, 2008, from 5:30 - 7:00 PM, at the Apostle Henry Ross, Sr. Family Life Center, located at 1302 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. (Map of this location available here)
Tim was born and raised in Lakeland, having attended Lake Gibson High School where he was the captain of the football team. He was the leading rusher in Polk County during the 1991 school year, and later set a state record by rushing for 315 yards in a district game. Upon graduation from high school, Tim attended Grambling State University where he played for the legendary Coach Eddie Robinson, Sr.
He earned his BS degree from Grambling in Leisure Studies/Therapeutic Recreation and later obtained his MBA from Everest University. Tim and his wife, Tomeka, live in Lakeland with their two children.
Tim brings a diversified background to the PAL position, but all of it is grounded in the belief that working with children can promote positive lifestyle habits and improve the welfare of youth in our community. PAL's goals are to instill good health habits, good sportsmanship, and high morals and civic standards in the youth of the community. This is accomplished by helpful fulfill the need for recreational, educational, and social activities that are designed to rehabilitate youthful first-time offenders, and prevent their return into the criminal justice system.
Come join us tomorrow evening and welcome Tim Abram to Lakeland PAL!
- Asst Chief Bill LePere
No, it's not the latest version of police uniforms being considered by Lakeland Police officers in the photo to the left here. And it is not an invasion of aliens, though people do sometimes look at us like we are from another universe.
Rather, these photos are from recent in-service training sessions where our officers donned protective suits that are to be worn in the event of some type of chemical or biological hazard requiring full-body protection.
The masks and suits are intended to be worn by officers on security perimeters of incidents related to homeland security threats. These threats may not come from terrorist activity. The most common use for the protective suits will be chemical spills or perhaps an incident involving a biological threat.
In any event, the training sessions gave our officers the opportunity to suit up and see what a challenge it would be to do their jobs in the hot Florida sun while completely encased in a protective suit.
Lakeland PD continues to offer specialized training in homeland security operations and required NIMS training (the National Incident Management System) as established by FEMA.
We hope the need for using these suits never comes our way. (They are hot, in case you were wondering. I know because I suited up myself one day.) But if the need arises, our officers are prepared and ready to respond.
- Asst Chief Bill LePere
Serving the public during the holiday season provides us with many opportunities to bring a little holiday cheer into our community. Though we've been busy lately with such holiday gatherings (which has caused my blogging to lag just a bit), here are a couple of recent events we attended.
Thought we would share then with you to keep the holiday spirit alive going into the final shopping weekend before Christmas next week. Shopping - did I mention Lock It or Lose It when parking and leaving your car, if only for a few moments?
Cops and Christmas
Approximately 50 families received Christmas presents from the Lakeland Police Department's Community Services Unit during our annual Cops and Christmas party on Wednesday evening. The families were invited to the police station for some holiday cheer where they received toys for the children.
Santa Claus was on hand to keep the festive spirit going strong as everyone enjoyed some sandwiches and interacted with Chief Roger Boatner and Assistant Chief Charles Thompson.
One cannot help but get in the holiday spirit when you see the faces of little children light up at these events. Our thanks to the Community Services Unit for organizing this event, arranging the food, and coordinating the purchase of gifts.
The Polar Express Tour Visits LPD
I also had the opportunity to host visiting students from Ms. Brekke's Grade 1B class at St. Paul's Lutheran School here in Lakeland as they arrived at the police station following a train ride symbolic of The Polar Express. 
We gathered in a conference room where I read the book to the students seated around me. We imagined being part of the story of a little boy's magical journey to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. Afterwards, we shared milk and cookies (chocolate chip, of course... mmm, my favorite).
The students presented me with a silver bell, representing the bell from Santa's sleigh in the story book. I cherish the thoughtful gift and will include the bell in my annual holiday decorations to remember this class.
And for the record - I still hear the bell.
- Asst Chief Bill LePere
The first "Do The Right Thing" Awards for the 2007/2008 school year were presented during a ceremony last Thursday. This is the eighth year of the DTRT program at Lakeland PD.
A total of five students were nominated for awards this time. Each student received recognition for their positive choices, and one student was deemed the overall winner for this period. Here are the students honored during the ceremony for their efforts to do the right thing in their lives.
Overall Winner
Michael Fied - a 7th grade student at Southwest Middle School, was nominated for saving the life of a fellow student. He became aware that a fellow student had written a suicide note and was planning to end their life. Even though other students had seen the note and did nothing about it, Michael made a good choice and was the only one to report the matter to School Resource Officer Lori Edwards who was able to intervene and get the student safely into a treatment facility.
Other Nominees
Jamie Gries and Blake Stone - Jamie, a 6th grader at Southwest Middle School, and Blake, a 7th grader at SWMS, were nominated together for their combined efforts to do the right thing. These students found drugs on the roadway near their bus stop and turned the drugs over to School Resource Officer Lori Edwards. When they could have just kept the drugs or ignored the matter altogether, these students did the right thing by reporting the drugs the police.
Courtney Hancock and Dalton Willis - are both 5th graders at Carlton Palmore Elementary School. They were nominated together because of their incredibly cordial and polite behavior at school. They continually make the right choices in their behaviors and serve as exceptional role models for other students.
In a world where students are often viewed as always making poor choices, we congratulate each student and applaud their parents for teaching their children to do the right thing.
- Asst Chief Bill LePere
Thought it might be a good time to check in with this year's Citizens Police Academy, so I visited the class last night. Speakers for the first half of the evening were Captains Tom Day and Harry Katt who gave an overview of our Uniform Patrol Divisions.
Captain Day started the class by holding a "patrol briefing" for the class members. Everyone was given their patrol assignment for the evening's shift - some were assigned to patrol zones, some became K-9 officers, and one lucky participant got assigned to the helicopter. Two unlucky members were assigned to stakeout duty on a business rooftop to look for burglars known to be working the neighborhood. That was not a good duty assignment to get during last night's thunderstorm.
The briefing included giving the rookies a list of stolen vehicles they needed to BOLO when on duty. Several failed to write down the vehicle descriptions and tag numbers and quickly caught the wrath of the Captain when they could not repeat the tag! The rookies will quickly learn to write this information in their notebooks. Several others failed a "uniform inspection" because their shoes were unpolished. Officers gotta look professional out there!
All of this, of course, was in good fun.
Captain Katt joined the presentation and went into greater detail explaining the operations of Uniform Patrol. Together the Captains spoke about the wide range of duties and responsibilities for each zone officer, the challenges that come with policing a community with the land area of Lakeland, and discussed current crime trends. Class members left with a better understanding of how Patrol provides basic police services 24/7 to our entire community.
The class members have up to this point learned about the basic mission of the police department, toured the Communications Center, learned about our Crime Analysis process, and discovered that Jack Gillen, our Public Information Officer, is not a shy and quiet guy when it comes to public speaking.
On the schedule for next week is a presentation on legal issues affecting law enforcement.
-Asst Chief Bill LePere
The Lakeland Police Department's 2007 Citizens Police Academy got underway Wednesday evening with the first class of this year's academy being held at the police station. This marks the 22nd year the Lakeland Police Department has hosted a citizens academy. Over 60 community members were accepted into this year's class making it as one of the largest academies ever for the police department.
Chief of Police Roger Boatner (pictured above) hosted the first session's presentation as he thanked the participants for dedicating their time to learn more about the police department. His senior staff members were introduced to the class and gave a preview of their upcoming presentations, which will give a complete overview of how the police department is organized and operates.
Over the next three months, class members will get the opportunity to learn about the duties and responsibilities of every bureau and division within the agency. A day at the shooting range is scheduled for one Saturday as well as various department tours around the station.
Thanks go to the CPA Alumni Association for preparing a welcoming dinner for tonight's class.
In closing, we invite any of the current class members to add their comments about what they learned tonight.
-Asst Chief Bill LePere
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