Smile: Pensacola Police Now Wearing Body Cameras
February 6, 2015
Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward announced Thursday that Pensacola Police officers would begin wearing body cameras as part of their regular duty gear.
“Pensacola is fortunate to have what I believe is one of the finest police departments in the country, but we are always looking for ways that we can be better,” Hayward said. “It’s important to me that we be transparent in everything we do as a city government, and I believe these cameras will reinforce public trust in our police department while safeguarding both our citizens and our police officers.”
The deployment of body cameras comes after nearly a year of planning, testing, and training by the Pensacola Police Department. The department has used in-car cameras for approximately 18 years, but until now, there has not been a way to capture on video any incidents which occur away from police vehicles. The new body cameras will be activated anytime an officer is conducting police business. Departmental policy will allow for officer discretion in order to protect the privacy of victims and witnesses.
“We have been looking at getting body cameras for some time,” said Chief Chip W. Simmons. “We believe this is another effort we can take to improve the quality of service we offer to the public.”
The police department purchased 55 body cameras and supporting software last fall with $95,000 from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund, which includes money from seizures and forfeitures. Ten officers have been trained on how to use the cameras and were the first to use them on patrol Thrusday. Other officers will be trained over the next four months on the use of the remaining cameras.
“This gives us an opportunity to collect better, more complete evidence and believe it will also help in reducing complaints against officers,” said Sgt. Bruce Martin, video system administrator for the department.
The cameras measure about 1½ by 2½ inches, will be worn in the center of an officer’s chest, and are capable of continuously recording for approximately eight hours. Throughout their shifts, officers can download video from their vehicles to a server, and once the video is downloaded, the recording space becomes available again.
Stock photo.
FWC Eyes Bear Hunts, But Says Trash Is Real Culprit
February 6, 2015
Florida wildlife officials will propose a draft rule in April for allowing limited hunting of bears but say problems with bears in suburban areas stem from homeowners and businesses not properly taking care of garbage.
Thomas Eason, a division director with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, told reporters Thursday during a conference call that bears are attracted to suburban neighborhoods because of easy access to food.
The commission on Wednesday directed its staff to move forward with plans to address dangerous interactions between humans and black bears. That includes proposing a draft rule in April that would allow hunting of bears, possibly as soon as this fall.
The prospect of bear hunts has stirred opposition from groups such as the Humane Society of the United States, which argue in part that killing bears in the woods will not solve the problems in suburban areas. During Thursday’s conference call, Eason said wildlife officials are taking a “conservative” approach that likely will include proposing a short hunting season and preventing the use of dogs in bear hunts. But Eason said hunting is only part of the effort to address the bear issue. He and commission Chairman Dick Corbett said bears are attracted to populated areas because of food that is available in unsecured garbage cans and Dumpsters.
Eason said hunting will not directly solve most of the conflicts between humans and bears but that it can help manage bear numbers.
by The News Service of Florida
Pictured: A black bear at the Wild Oak Farms Apartments in Cantonment in 2012. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Softball: Northview Opens With Pace; Tate Shuts Out FWB
February 6, 2015
The Northview Lady Chiefs dropped their first softball game of the season to the Pace Patriots Thursday night, while the Tate Lady Aggies opened their season with a shutout victory over Fort Walton Beach.
Despite a Northview rally in the final inning, Pace defeated the Chiefs 8-4. The Patriots were out to a 4-0 lead a the end of three, and up 6-0 going into the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, the Patriots expanded their lead to 8-0, and the Chiefs cut that lead in half 8-4 in the seventh. The Lady Chiefs will travel to Chipley on February 12 before their next home game on February 17 as they host Catholic.
The Tate Lady Aggies went on the road and beat Fort Walton Beach 16-0. The Lady Aggies will be home Friday against Pace, with the JV playing at 4:30 and the varsity taking the field at 6:30.
For more photos from Pace at Northview, click here.
Pictured: Pace at Northview. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate High Wind Ensemble Performs At Troy State Band Clinic
February 6, 2015
The Tate High School Wind Ensemble performed Thursday night at the the Southeastern United States Concert Band Clinic and Honor Bands on the campus of Troy University in Troy, AL. The ensemble was selected from a pool of applicants from across the Southeast and was one just four bands invited to participate. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fire Damages Office Building
February 6, 2015
An office building behind Ashton Inn on Navy Boulevard in Warrington was heavily damaged by fire Thursday afternoon. There were no injuries reported. The cause of the blaze is under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Burglary Suspect Sentenced; Crime Was Inspiration For Facebook Crime Fighters
February 5, 2015
An Escambia County man was sentenced Tuesday to over six years in prison for a string of residential burglaries in Escambia County and in Pensacola. And his crimes have been credited for inspiring a Facebook page were thousands of ordinary local citizens fight back against crime.
Craig Warren Jackson, 36, was sentenced to 75.3 months in state prison for a long list of burglary and stolen property related crimes.
In Escambia County, he was charged with burglaries during early 2014 on Southern Oaks Drive, Woodrun Road, Filly Road and Tanager Circle. During those burglaries, jewelry, electronics, weapons and safes were stolen. He was also charged with burglaries in the city of Pensacola in which thousands of dollars worth of electronics, jewelry and other items were stolen. Many of those items have been recovered.
During the burglary on Filly Road in Cantonment, Jackson ransacked a bedroom and stole jewelry and other items belonging to Craig Morgan’s mom, as well as jewelry and other items from his father. Morgan’s dad, who retired from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in 1989, passed away four years ago.
Morgan offered a cash reward for the burglar’s arrested and conviction, and he turned to Facebook to identify several vehicles unusual to the neighborhood caught on video in front of the home on the day of the burglary.
“Becoming a victim of a crime is not something you are ever truly prepared for, but what you do after can make all the difference,” Morgan said. “Everyone has a sense of anger and disbelievement as to why and how it happens. You can use those emotions to your advantage to pull all resource’s available to have a positive outcome – never giving up.”
His “Cantonment Fl. Break ins” Facebook page quickly gained over 1,500 likes after being published on NorthEscambia.com, and it has since evolved over the last year into the “Escambia fl. Break Ins” page, with over 6,500 likes. The page, Morgan said, has become an avenue for other victims of crime to know that they are not alone.
“Sharing their experience as well as warning others, whatever it takes to spur community involvement is great. It’s a bridge to help law enforcement so to speak,” Morgan said.
Pictured: A ransacked bedroom at a home on Filly Road in Cantonment following a burglary during February 2014. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Woman Accused Of Elderly Abuse Sentenced On Lesser Charges
February 5, 2015
A Cantonment woman charged last year with abusing her elderly roommate has been sentenced on lesser charges.
Kelly Colleen Lister was sentenced to 11 months and 15 days in the county jail, with credit for time served, for battery and resisting arrest without violence. A charge of abuse of a disabled elderly person was dropped.
The roommate victim told Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies that Kelly Colleen Lister has been drinking all day and broke several things inside their house before hitting her in the face. The victim told deputies she is mentally disabled and cannot move without the aid of a walker or wheelchair. She said Lister had knocked her off a couch.
An independent witness at the home confirmed the alleged abuse to deputies, according to an arrest report, and the victim had obvious physical injuries.
When deputies ordered Lister to stand up from a couch, she instead grabbed a bottle of liquor and began to drink it, and she pulled away from deputies trying to place her under arrest, the ECSO report states.
Century Business Challenge Now Open
February 5, 2015
The Century Business Challenge is now open, with the winner set to receive startup money and an almost free business location for a year.
The challenge is effort of Quint and Rishy Studer and the University of West Florida Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development and the UWF Small Business Development Center.
The Century Business Challenge will be open to any applicant wishing to start a new business in the Town of Century. Business relocations and expansions will be considered, but only for compelling need-based reasons. The winner of the Century Business Challenge will receive a package of incentives to assist with the planning, location, and operational hurdles that often keep entrepreneurial plans from ever being realized.
The package will include:
- A one year lease in the Century Business Center (the former “Habitat for Opportunity Building” in a former school on Pond Street) for $1. The lease may be extended with a rate dependent on the financial condition of the business.
- Up to $25,000 in build-out and startup capital funds to be used for equipment, building upgrades, or furniture from the Studers; and
- Ongoing business mentorship from successful business leaders.
Applicants will first need to submit an application, followed by a business plan that is based on the Challenge timeline and resources. Participants will receive business plan software valued at $90 to assist them with their plan. Following the submission of the business plans, a Challenge panel of business experts will judge each business plan, and the top-scoring business plans will proceed to Round Two, which is a more intensive, elevator-pitch style interview with the Challenge panel.
The Challenge panel will determine the winning business plan, and the winning company will immediately begin the process of working to start, relocate, or expand a business in Century.
Applications are available at CenturyBusinessChallenge.com and are due by March 31. Business plans will be due by May 29.
Pictured: The now-empty Century Business Center. NorthEscambia.com file photos.
Sheriff’s Office Seeks Two Possible Shooting Witnesses
February 5, 2015
Escambia Sheriff’s investigators are seeking two possible witnesses in connection with the January 19 afternoon shooting that occurred on Erress Boulevard. The victim later passed away from injuries sustained during the shooting.
Investigators believe Courtney Tywan Beasley, 23, and Leila Lucille Gilliams, 23, may have information concerning the incident during which 23-year old Jessie James Bryant, Jr. was shot and killed. The Sheriff’s Office said that neither Beasley nor Gilliams are considered suspects at this time.
Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Courtney Tywan Beasley or Leila Lucille Gilliams should contact Gulf Coast Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-7867. Calls are anonymous and if information helps to solve a crime, the caller could earn a cash reward.
Light Freeze Tonight
February 5, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 28. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Friday Sunny, with a high near 58. Wind chill values between 25 and 35 early. North wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
- Friday Night Clear, with a low around 37. Calm wind.
- Saturday Sunny, with a high near 65. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
- Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 44. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Sunday Cloudy, with a high near 67. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Sunday Night A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. South wind around 5 mph.
- Monday Partly sunny, with a high near 70. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. Northwest wind around 10 mph.
- Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 61.
- Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 36.
- Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 67.
- Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 43.
- Thursday A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 65.