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New Sheriff Plans To Make Century Crime A Top Target
January 5, 2009
Now that David Morgan has been sworn in as Escambia County’s new sheriff , he plans to turn his sights on Century as one of his first major projects.
“You tell them that I coming for them. If they are part of the criminal element in Century, I’m coming for them,” Morgan told NorthEscambia.com. ” I am going to start with Century and show them how it is done.” Morgan said that he will begin his attack on crime in Century within four months.
Statistically, Century accounts for a large majority of all sheriff’s department calls in North Escambia.
“I want to put the criminal element that has their foot on the throat of Century on notice,” Morgan said. “Their days are over.”
Morgan said he wants to sit down with Century Mayor Freddie McCall and work on a plan to clean up the town.
“Century needs to stand by,” Morgan said. “We want to work on a plan to take care of the problem in that town.”
Also in North Escambia, the sheriff-elect said he intends to reopen the department’s Walnut Hill Precinct that has sat mostly unused for years.
Countywide, Morgan said he intends to hit the ground running to make his campaign promises a reality. He plans to restructure the Escambia County Sheriff’ Department administration, putting more deputies on the streets of the county. And he plans to increase pay for deputies and correctional officers.
“The good ole boy system, that’s coming to an end,” Morgan said. “When times are good, you can kind of pull that off, but when times are bad, you can’t.”
He expects that annual budget for the sheriff’s department to be cut from its current $86.3 million to around $76 million. But despite the cuts, he plans to increase the number of deputies on the streets of Escambia County. Out of 1,058 employees in the sheriff’s department, Morgan said just 240 are deputies on patrol. He said 55 percent of the department’s employees work in administration.
“You have secretaries that gets cars to drive and gas cards,” he said.
Morgan plans to increase the number of deputies on patrol from the current 240 to nearly 300, the number of detention employees at the jail from 268 to about 300 and nearly double the number of narcotics officers.
“We are going to do more basic police work at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office,” he added. “We are going to return to serving the public, not being served.”
Morgan was sworn-in Tuesday morning as the county’s top cop.
Pictured above: Sheriff elect David Morgan was sworn in on Tuesday. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Comments
22 Responses to “New Sheriff Plans To Make Century Crime A Top Target”
way to go guys i saw what you done last night at that bar near the Alabama line…….iam proud of you two officers you really done good next time come in the back way LOL
Walking Tall is coming to town, and the criminals and all their whinning supporters better get ready to take a trip down town, where there is new management at the gray bar Hilton. Buford Pusser Morgan is going to get the blurred line of legal and illegal back in focus. Bring your big stick and lets bust some heads, because that is all these animals understand. Swift brute force. Oh and the public should have a respect or fear of Law Enforcement, that is the only way it can be totally effective against low life that continues to plague our town. Mr. Morgan don’t be afraid to get the big daddys that sit in their big fancy houses in Century and pretend they have nothing to do with the illegal activities that they initiate. They hide behind their churches and community organizations, and claim to be do gooders. The ones you see and hear in the town claiming harrassment and profiling are the very ones to watch. But no worry, if you round up all the scum that work under them, the scum will give them up eventually. Everybody has pressure points.
Sherriff Pusser Morgan the streets are yours.
(You saying …..Mr. Morgan will not stop drugs )….. If he doesnt stop the drugs going around in Century he might can put a dent into the drug dealing in Century of course i have seen 10 drug deals go down in 10 minutes and call 911 and told the dispatcher right where it was going on……A officer that showed up pulled up behind a store and sat there with his parking lights on it was getting dark by the time the officer got there about 30 minutes after the call went through! NOW how you gonna catch them if the officer is going to give hisself away…setting right at the drug dealers house with his parking lights on… I will say this if Mr Morgans officers dont work the right way then NO the drug dealers will get away with it just like they have for the pass years ….. The FemaTralier park that came into the Century city limits not long ago is why the drugs were brought into TOWN OF CENTURY CITY LIMITS.. everyone knew there was drugs in CENURY but not right off hwy 29 in the city limits close to the Alabama line!!!!! Last weekend i watched 3 officers go into a bar in Century to check for under age due to a call they found no under age because they didnt check ID’s, i sat there and watched at least 10 under age go into that bar 17 yr old under age kids i saw this myself the officers walked throught came out walked behind the bar a left …..they should of looked at ID”s
as soon as they left i set there and watched drug deals go down this one guy was going to everyone that walked up or pulled up…. in the parking lot this went on for about 2 hrs last weekend…
GOOD LUCK MR MORGAN
Mr. Morgan after you handle all of the Issues around Century, check back around the Brownsville area…Since the big clean-up by Ronnie Mac…the Prostitutes are BACK enforce!!!! time will tell…………………………………
I HAVE BEEN CALLING THIS PLACE LITTLE CHICAGO FOR YEARS.GOOD LUCK TOTHE NEW SHERRIF. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU,A.W THOMPSON
Yes Lana B. I would hurt someone if they gave drugs,beer, or cigarettes to my kids and if you wouldn’t then you need help. I don’t drink or smoke or do drugs and yes I have turned in a few who do drugs. I don’t regret it one bit. If you are not breaking the law I don’t think the law will mess with you to much and I have been stopped by a few lawmen in my time. I will say a few of those times I needed to be put in jail myself for drinking and driving. I use to drink and I know how it effects you and family and everyone you know. I do say that it is one of the worst drugs out there. I wish they would make it a crime to put all the ads on TV and in print about beer and whiskey. There is nothing romantic or super cool about it at all. Thank God above that my kids have never seen me or my wife take a drink. I thank Him everyday that I didn’t kill someone while I drank. Yes the drugs need to be stopped in Century and the rest of the country by any means that can do it. I don’t care if the person is in Century or any where else get them and don’t give them any breaks. Drug dealers don’t have any rights as for as I am concerned. Plain and simple. Lana if someone should ever do anything like that to your kids or grandkids I hope someone like me is around to stop them. God bless and protect all the little childern from harm of any kind.
I voted for Mr. Morgan–he has the knowledge and leadership that it is going to take to get through these next few years. The clean-up in Century will not be overnight, but anything will help. As I read the newspapers, listen to people here in the community about who is arrested, who done what–it is usually the same people over and over again. Heck, they get arrested and make it back to Century before the ink on the paperwork is dry! Our county/state not only need a sheriff that will tackle the problem straight on, but judges that will enforce the law. How can someone get arrested for the same (or related) crime(s) and not serve jail time, not pay for their own undoing? It is not a black/white issue, it is a community issue-all of us are potential targets……Let’s give our sheriff’s dept. the help they need.
I have nothing to be concerned about regarding ecsd.
concerning not being afraid to walk around at night/day etc. I was referring to safety. Obviously you are retired enlisted military or something like that where you think government should control everything.
What about civil liberties and freedom. Patrol your own neighborhood, take responsibility don’t blame everyone for what you can have an impact on in your own neighborhood. Take walks, it is good to show your presence and that simple daily act helps prevent crime as well.. The police depend on us to help them. Police cannot be everywhere all the time. Quit complaining and do your part.
just because someone doesn’t agree with you does not mean they have something to hide or fear.
Wow! I don’t think I have ever seen someone complain about more police presence?? Unless they or someone they know has reason to fear, I say go for it ECSD!
Lana B – how can you say as long as someone isn’t buying / selling drugs it doesn’t effect them??? Wake up my friend…. the drug trade – big and small- effects us all…. NEGATIVELY
conerned citizen #2…Mr. Morgan will not stop drugs from being sold here, no one can. We are not like Brownsville area in Pensacola and don’t deserve to be treated that way. You worry so much about drugs being sold to your children, etc. I bet you are not that concerned in front of them when you knock back a couple of beers.
I remember that chase up 29 very well. The police could have stopped the fellow well before he drove the 40 miles or so up 29 in many much less populated areas, come on now. He had one pistol with only the rounds in the gun and had fired all rounds while in Pensacola. If they had shot at him up 29 there would have been a lot less to hit. Have you not driven up 29? It is quite isolated in areas.
I personally saw all the bullet holes, tops of pine trees skimmed by bullets, the mini van with the back window shattered by police bullets (luckily the owner wasn’t in it), bullet holes through the house next door, etc. There was no reason to fire so many rounds at one person with no bullets left in the gun. We were very lucky here that someone was not harmed. After all those rounds fired, they didn’t even hit their target. What were they shooting at? Everything but their target it seemed. You obviously didn’t not do a thorough review of the area at the time.
You bet I was one of the ones complaining about the harassment of the decent and good people of Century. Arrest the people that violate the law but leave the rest of us alone.
We are not the armpit of Escambia County and I personally resent the implication that we are so bad here that we deserve to be treated the way Morgan is implying. There are more decent people here than there are bad people.
You say you would harm anyone who gave your children drugs and got them hooked…are you gonna treat the person who gives them their first dfrink of alcohol the same. Their first cigarette? Think long and hard about your wish to have deputies shoot em up around here.
Again we are not the armpit of Escambia County. We are decent people.
“Way to go” to the new Sheriff in town! Now maybe some of your taxmoney can pay for your officers backing up Flomaton’s instead of the other way around! If you dont think we have officers here in south Alabama, just keep a watchful eye in Century, they love to play a Florida cop.
About your comment concerned citizen on Mr. Morgan’s way of doing things. He is hopefully going to get rid of some of the crime and drugs on the streets of Century with his way of doing things. Everyone wanted it to happen when McNesby tried and some of the people started to cry about the deputies doing their jobs and arresting drug dealers white and black. Of course these were people who were kin to or very close to the drug dealers or their families. Maybe Morgan will have the guts to get the job done right. I am sure you were one of the people crying about the young black men getting harrassed and people getting threatened at traffic stops. I know a lot of young black men and young white men and women of both races that need to be in jail today for selling and giving drugs to kids to get them hooked. If they gave it to my kids and I knew who they were they wouldn’t have to worry about jail as for as I am concerned. Go ahead Morgan whatever it takes clean the mess up in the whole county.
As for as your comment on the man getting caught in Century a few years ago and them shooting at him you forgot a few things. He escaped and stole a car and was driving at breakneck speeds up Hwy 29 shooting at the deputies and troopers chasing him. He was trying to kill someone don’t you think??? He didn’t care who it was and he didn’t care what color they were.He happen to run out of gas if I remember right and coasted into the station where the shooting happened. As for as any treetops taken out in the battle I hope those guys (Deputies) can shoot better than that. This was a man who didn’t care who got hurt and they stopped him. Glad they weren’t shooting at him all the way up Hwy 29 they may have hit someone who didn’t deserve it as he did. You say they fired 100’s of rounds. How do you know that? I don’t think they carry that much ammo with them I saw the crime scene and I have to say honestly that there didn,t look like that many shots to me and I am a avid hunter who notices things like that myself. I don’t think the man got shot either if memory severs me right.
We don’t have many of the deputies left that were on the north end at that time but, I am sure the new ones will be blamed the same as the old ones were. If you don’t step my toes it is ok to your job BUT, if you do and someone I am kin to or know very well gets caught then it is a just not right and I will try and start a big stink on you even if it is a lie.
I hope that Mr. Morgan has success in cleaning the drugs up around Century! I know that that the drugs are bad everywhere but as a citizen of Century I am hopeful! My family has been affected so negatively by drugs . Drugs wreck lives , hurt famly members , and make innocent children suffer . Drugs destoy a persons mind to the point that they no longer care about anything else but that drug! So I hope he can wipe the drugs off of our streets so our families and children of our community will have a happier and safer place to live!
I am not one of the good ole boys; I am not a government employee. I am a person who does not feel fearful of “drug deals”. There are drugs being dealt day and night no matter where you are. If you are not purchasing or selling don’t worry there is no interest in you or me.
People have for ions used one form or another of mind altering drugs(that would include alcohol for those of you that don’t understand that around here). You cannot stop it but we can work to stop the crime that is associated with that type of “commerce”. I wish Mr. Morgan great success but not at the cost of the loss of others rights. I believe he will do well. McNesby was bad news on many levels. Change is better than more of the same as is constantly being stated in the national media.
My point is, let’s see what he has in mind and make sure that he does not use Century as a bad example. There are many worse areas in Escambia County than Century regardless of the number of calls received.
Well, thank goodness its about time that someone did something for the good of Century. But don’t cha just love those concerned citizens sometimes. LOL Me thinks thats probably one of dem good ole boys comments ya’ll know what I mean. Those poor secretaries are going to have to learn how to become a regular person and buy and pump their own gas. and drive their own cars imagine that. Remarkable.Just might need to do an instruction manual here at NorthEscambia.com so they can download the directions on that difficult task to keep with them at all times. Remember it cost money for us regular people with regular jobs that means non county jobs cause we dont’ know the right people to get those so it should be the same for you. Maybe they’ll start that over within other parts of county government.
Well,we are very happy and excited about this new sheriff coming to town…..who cares where he starts!! Just start!!!!! One of the writers sounds like he/she might just be barking loudly because HE IS coming to town with great fervor!!!!!! Of course,we will all be careful to not be over eager until Mr.Morgan’s plans have come to fruition……..I believe it can happen,with GOD’S help….and FULL cooperation from the citizens……….Mr.M,you can count on me and my husband…..
welcome to Dodge City……
I don’t know, but just maybe this will be the answer to the citizens of Century and surrounding areas’ prayers. We have wanted something done about the obvious drug problems in this area. The people in Century and surrounding areas need to back the police force not fight against it. Only when everyone works together will there be a lasting solution.
Well, I know that I do not feel safe enough to walk anymore unless it is bright daylight. I live in the historical district and the amount of drug deals and trash that has moved in this area scares the crap out of me and I do not let my kids out to play anymore either. Maybe I am sheltering them a little, but I do not want them seeing drug deals, and all the other mess that comes along with that sort of trash. I was ready to get out of this area and move away, but I may just wait and see what this new guy has up his sleeve….
This is one citizen of Century who welcomes Mr. Morgan with open arms! So often we feel as if we get the leftovers here in the north end of the county. It is refreshing that we are being made a priority for once!
Oh please! Is he afraid to start working on crime in the largest town, Pensacola? We had just gotten McNesby under control. Has everyone here forgotten how horrible the sheriff’s dept behaves when in Century? Has everyone forgotten about the shooting at Kim’s Mini Market a few years back when the Escambia County Sheriff’s Dept waited until the escaped prisoner arrived all the way up hwy 29 to Century before they did anything? There were hundreds of rounds fired all around the area of the store. Tree tops were hit, the little house next door had multiple bullet holes in it (fortunately at that time no one was residing there).
Officers were threatening people at traffic stops, young black males were being harrassed. Do not forget the community meetings to get the deputies under control.
Be careful giving Mr. Morgan and these same employees free rein up here.
This is still our town, we need an appropriate amount of policing but certainly not the type Mr. Morgan is spouting already. This again will make people fear the deputies.
Before you get all worked up Mr. Moran I did vote for Mr. Morgan. I just believe he needs to calm the rhetoric, he is not a cowboy and Century is not the wild west.
I feel very safe here on the streets day or night.. I am a walker, I can walk Ramar, Jefferson, etc at any hour and never feel that someone will intentionally harm me. This has nothng to do with the police it is the people. There is crime here, there is crime everywhere. There should be police here as there is everywhere just not the type of policing Mr. Morgan is espousing.
thank you Northescamia.com for the forum.
Thank you Mr. Morgan!
I am glad to see something is about to be done to try and correct the drug problem in and around Century, Thanks Floyd A. Bales