Hollywood Police Department (Florida)

The Hollywood Police Department (HPD) is a full-service agency servicing a population of 145,629 in 27 square miles (70 km2) of the municipality of Hollywood, Florida.[1]

History

The police department was established on 8 December 1925, along with the town itself. The department had seven chiefs in its first year of existence as the city council appointed inexperienced locals with little interest in the work.

On 17 September 1926, a massive hurricane destroyed most of the town. The local National Guard unit protected the city as the department was devastated. Captain Clare Stout headed this operation and became chief of the department less than three years later.

The Great Depression hit the town hard. By 1931, policemen were forced to drive their own cars on patrol and pay in part for their uniforms. The next year, the city was unable to meet payroll and issued letters of credit in lieu of salaries.

The number of police officers on the force varied wildly during this period. The department was understaffed, underpaid and led by chiefs who lacked professional training. During this period, the city became a base for organized crime. Despite the legal prohibition of alcohol, many illegal bars and casinos operated undisturbed by the police. “Lucky” Luciano and Meyer Lansky ran their operations from Hollywood. These activities continued into the postwar era, despite periodic attempts by the state to suppress them. Between 1947 and 1951, United States Senator Estes Kefauver and the Miami Herald highlighted local corruption and vice. This led to increased pressure that drove the biggest operations to Las Vegas and nearby Cuba.

In September 1980 an unknown number of police officers called in sick as a work action. The department’s own website reports that in the 1980s many officers were more concerned with their side jobs as security guards than with their work with the department.

In January 1986, Richard Witt became chief of police. He had served 26 years with the Miami Police Department. He was the first chief of police with professional experience and few connections to the moneyed interests in the city.[2]

Chiefs of police

Name Date Appointed Notes
Virgil Wright 8 December 1925 Resigned the next day
George Bausweine 15 January 1926
Larry Walsh 31 March 1926 Interim
CC Freeman 5 July 1926
“Big Bill” Adams 5 October 1926
Joe Valley 12 June 1926 The town’s first detective
Clare Stout 22 March 1929
AM Wittkamp 6 October 1930 Fired
James Camphart 1 August 1936
EW Christian 2 September 1940
James Camphart 16 November 1941 reappointed
James Lane 28 September 1943 Acting
Philip A Thompson 4 February 1947 Died in office
Woody Malphurs 28 December 1965
“Bud” Naylon 1 November 1970
Sam Martin 28 June 1974
Dick Witt 16 January 1986
Rick Stone 1 October 1996
Jim Scarberry 26 January 1999 During this period, the department was under FBI investigation.[3]
Chadwick Wagner 3 November 2007
Vincent Affanato Interim Chief
Frank G. Fernandez 13 August 2013 Resigned to take position for the City of Coral Gables
Tomas Sanchez 10 July 2015

Organization

The current chief of police is Tomas Sanchez.[4]

The department is divided into two bureaus:[5] •Investigations and Support Services Bureau, run by the Asst. Chief includes: •Major Criminal Investigations Division (investigative services, Crime Scene Investigations, Family Services, Vice, Intelligence & Narcotics) •Major Support Services Division (Quartermaster, Communications/EOC, Information Technology) •Major Professional Standards Division (Personnel, Timekeeper, Accreditation, Training, Records Section.)

•Patrol Services Bureau, includes: •Major Patrol Division (uniformed Patrol, detail office, Canine unit, Street Crimes unit) •Major Special Operations Division (Special Events, Marine, Traffic, Motors, Beach, Downtown) •Major Neighborhood Services Division (NTL's, Code Enforcement Section, Crime Prevention, Crime Watch)

Campaign against snipe signs

In 2012, the department began to use computer software to call numbers on commercial signs left on roadsides in the city. It reported as much as an eighty percent decrease in these small "snipe signs" in the city limits.[6]

Controversy

Police Chief Rick Stone was brought in to try to reform the troubled and scandal-plagued department in 1996. He filed a RICO (Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization) lawsuit on April 13, 2000 against the Broward County Police Benevolent Association and two union bosses, who were also members of the Hollywood Police Department.[7]

In 2007, several Hollywood Police Department officers were implicated in a wide-reaching corruption investigation by the FBI, and a few officers turned state's evidence in order to reduce their potential sentences.[8] Four officers were jailed for trafficking in heroin.[9][10]

In 2009, five Hollywood Police Department officers were accused of trying to cover up a crash involving one of their own officers by lying on police reports. Officer Dewey Pressley is clearly heard on video to "draw little Disney here.." the report and as saying, "if I have to bend the rules to protect a cop I'm gonna." The audio from the incident was recorded by dashboard camera, and was reportedly full of vulgar language.[11] On 7 January 2010, Police Chief Chad Wagner fired five officers involved in the incident.[12] The officers were by that point in their sixth month of paid leave.[13] On 10 April 2012, Officer Joel Francisco was sentenced to ninety days in jail after he pled guilty in the original accident. He had been talking on his phone when he hit the other car with his official vehicle. His record shows eight traffic accidents in his twelve years with the department.[14][15] One other former Hollywood officer, Dewey Pressley, is appealing a ninety-day sentence.[16]

On 28 December 2010, Officer Jonathan Commella beat and tasered Arben Bajra while he was handcuffed. Bajra's skull was fractured in the attack and he suffered permanent impairment. Commella had mistaken Bajra for someone. No charges were brought against either man. In November 2013 the department paid Bajra $195,000. Commella had by then moved on to be a deputy of the Broward County Sheriff.[17][18]

Fallen officers

References

  1. ↑ "Hollywood (Florida) - MSN Encarta". Archived from the original on 2009-10-31.
  2. ↑ Official website, retrieved 4 August 2013
  3. ↑ http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/01/06/1412599/hollywood-aims-to-fire-six-in.html
  4. ↑ Official website, retrieved 4 August 2013
  5. ↑ Hollywood Police Department - Command Staff
  6. ↑ In Florida, Fighting Sign Pollution with Robocalls, by Robbie Brown, 3 June 2012, New York Times
  7. ↑ Ex-Police Chief Sues South Florida Union by Michael Nelson on 04/24/2000, National Legal and Policy Center
  8. ↑ "Four Hollywood Florida Police Officers Take Step Toward Corruption Plea Deals". The Ledger (Lakeland, Florida). 19 April 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-11. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  9. ↑ Deey Pressley, ex-Hollywood cop, accused of doctoring report to protect officer Joel Francisco,WPTV.com, 28 November 2011
  10. ↑ "Former Hollywood police officer sentenced in corruption probe" (Press release). United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida. 10 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  11. ↑ Tonya Alanez (July 29, 2009). "Hollywood officers accused of faking report in crash". The Miami Herald. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  12. ↑ Deey Pressley, ex-Hollywood cop, accused of doctoring report to protect officer Joel Francisco,WPTV.com, 28 November 2011
  13. ↑ http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/01/06/1412599/hollywood-aims-to-fire-six-in.html
  14. ↑ Deey Pressley, ex-Hollywood cop, accused of doctoring report to protect officer Joel Francisco,WPTV.com, 28 November 2011
  15. ↑ Ex-cop pleads guilty in crash cover-up, 10 April 2012, WSVN television news report
  16. ↑ Olmeda, Rafael A. (13 January 2012). "Former Hollywood cop gets, and appeals, 90-day jail sentence". SunSentinel. Retrieved 2013-02-19.
  17. ↑ Hollywood man beaten by cop wins $195,000 settlement, 6 November 2013, by Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel
  18. ↑ Internal Affairs report (PDF) at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/media/acrobat/2013-11/242489400-05154544.pdf
  19. ↑ Slain Officers
  20. ↑ Fallen Heroes - Officer Alex Del Rio

External links

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