It was during a night shift working with one of the detectives on board our boat. During small talk time, he told me that the department was starting a live talk program at a local radio station. I told the detective of my experience in the field, and let him know if I could be of assistance, that I was willing to help.
It was a week later when one of the officers who was hosting the show that he was looking for help. He had moderated a few shows, but told me that he didn’t have the expertise or desire to continue. So, I told him I was more than happy to assist. The first week on, we got the show done. I was asked to return. The second week, I was asked what I was going to do for the following week. And thereon, for the next five years, I was moderator for the show on every week and eventually every other week.
There was a co-host, who was a sergeant, who proved to be very good at doing the show. Of interest to me was the board operator. I told him of my music interests, and how I had done an album (later a compact disc) of instrumental music. He told me to bring it in. He auditioned it, and then proceeded to use it as bumper music to the top of the hour and commercial breaks. It was actually featured on one entire hour-program as background music. Needless to say, I was thrilled. We had high- end guests, including the mayor (who was unannounced and unexpected), the Chief, members of various city departments and call-ins from the general population-some rather different in their views, depending on what chemical they were influenced being by.
We had a variety of phone calls, co-hosts and features that were introduced during the five years I was given the opportunity to do the show. Every Sunday, I would pull my marine unit shift, head to the gym and shower, go to Church, and head off to the radio station. The only complaint came from one of the staff members, who wanted me to feel guilty for receiving payment for my gig. But I didn’t, and the union representing our department didn’t either.
Our use of media extended to instructional presentations which were delivered through the city channel by way of cable TV. We had done a training video which featured my sergeant, his wife and my son on things “not to do” while boating.
The Chief had summoned me to his office one day. The Florida Marine Patrol had been approached by a small production company wanting to do a television show about water cops. Similar to the original “reality” show which dealt with law enforcement, they would simply record and document police activities, only on water. FMP stated that they were not interested, but had recommended us as a possibility. The Chief wanted to know if we would be willing to participate and assist the project. We said yes.
We met with the two producers and agreed that this was “doable”. We had them on board our vessels during an evening and night shift, as well as a day shift. I had them ride primarily with our latest appointed marine officer, who managed to snag an arrest with an impaired operator. They were able to get plenty of useful footage from all shifts. After filming, they left, but returned several days later to can more incidents. They then returned to Los Angeles, where they edited the film to an 8-minute pre-pilot, which is used to sell the concept to production companies. They spent some time with the project, but it got rejected because it was too similar to other shows at the time which had peaked in ratings and were starting to slide in popularity. Had it been sold, I had been offered a position to assist their show in an advisory and coordination capacity.
Over the years, we had changed police chiefs (including acting) on four occasions. There was the one staff supervisor who had always had an adamant dislike for me; however, it wasn’t just me. He had a general problem with most officers and was in charge of Internal Affairs for a long time. One night, while working a specific marine detail, we had tied off at the hotel at which an event was being held, requiring waterborne assistance.
He approached me and, while discussing specific details about the assignment, told me, in essence, that I had been assigned to the unit for much too long. He compared my time to others who had held the position for a much shorter time, and how they had rotated back to the road or wherever. I didn’t have much to say. What I did know was that the current chief was happy with our service. Further, it was no longer just being present on the water, but pro-active in operations. We had grown from a public relations tool into viable law enforcement. So the supervisor had his say, and went about his business. It was the last time he and I spoke, as he retired shortly afterwards.
There was a policy enacted which allowed officers a half hour to do physical workouts on duty. The department had an exercise room with every weight station that one could think of. My choice was running. While there were treadmills available in the gym, I was more into the outdoor variety. During the last portion of the shift, I would drop my gun belt off with my partner. I would run on A1A from Palmetto Park Road to Spanish River Blvd. while I was shadowed by our police car. In the event of a marine unit call, my partner could catch up with me quickly.
It was a few months before I retired that I responded to a domestic disturbance call. I happened to be in the area and was the first responding officer. I pulled up on a somewhat chaotic scene where there was yelling and screaming in the street. I got out of my car, and there was an older couple (Grandparents?) that were