 CASES
Escambia County
- Officer Waters observed a charter boat parked near Mahogany Mill boat ramp with an individual cleaning fish. Upon conducting a resource inspection, the individual was found to be in possession of two 12-inch flounder. The individual was cited accordingly.
- While investigating a beached boat near Big Lagoon State Park, Officer Waters contacted the operator, who was also found to be in possession of Spanish mackerel that were beheaded and not landed in whole condition. The individual was cited accordingly.
- Officer Hahr was patrolling in Bayou Texar when he observed a fishing boat returning to the boat ramp. A fisheries check revealed an undersized spotted seatrout. The owner of the boat was cited accordingly.
- Officer Hahr responded to a complaint regarding a fawn pursued by dogs in the complainant’s yard. Upon investigation, Officer Hahr determined the neighbor’s dogs attacked the fawn in the complainant’s yard. The dog’s owner stated he felt his dogs should be allowed to be free and hunt as they desired. He was charged with allowing dogs to pursue wildlife during closed season and allowing dogs to pursue wildlife on private property without permission.
Okaloosa County
- Officers Oliver and Phillips were on patrol when they observed four subjects fishing near a boat ramp. The officers conducted a fisheries inspection. None of the individuals had valid fishing licenses and one subject had an active felony warrant for burglary out of south Florida. The officers arrested the individual and the warrant was served at the Okaloosa County Jail. The remaining violations were addressed accordingly.
- Officer Oliver encountered three individuals on a shoreline and one individual was casting a rod. During a resource inspection, the officer located a small bag containing an undersized red drum (redfish) in the sand next to one of the individuals. Officer Oliver charged one subject with possession of the undersized redfish.
COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING
Santa Rosa County
- Officers Mullins and Wilkenson worked at the FWC tent at Munson Heritage Festival, which attracts many people to Krul Lake at Blackwater Wildlife Management Area. The FWC has a large presence at the event with fish and wildlife exhibits. The officers provided law enforcement patrol and presence at the event, coordinating with the Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office K-9 team and Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary Troopers.
- Officer Brown taught a hunter safety course with over 20 students. He covered local laws and regulations, focusing on key aspects such as hunting seasons, hunting methods, reporting requirements, and licensing. Officer Brown answered multiple questions and educated the students about responsible hunting practices, wildlife conservation, and safety measures to ensure a safe hunting experience.
Walton County
- Officers Letcher, K-9 Officer Graves, and Lieutenant Tison along with the FWC’s Division of Habitat and Species Conservation private lands biologists E. ODaniels and P. Stango attended the Walton County Fair. Over a six-day period, the officers and biologists engaged with members of the public, answering questions and providing educational brochures, hunting and fishing regulations, and information about boating safety, imperiled species and avoiding human-wildlife conflicts.
 CASES
Columbia County
- Lieutenant Starling responded to a call about a shot heard on private property where the complainant believed no one had permission to hunt. Lt. Starling located the subject and determined he did have permission to hunt on the property. During the investigation, he learned the subject had taken an antlered deer. Once the deer was located and the antler measured, it was discovered the deer did not meet antler point regulations for the deer management unit in which the subject harvested the deer. Lt. Starling issued a notice to appear for the violations.
Duval County
- Officer McGregor was investigating a derelict vessel and coordinated with the manager and JSO Officer at Hanna Park to locate the registered owner. Officer McGregor and Senior Officer Stuhr made contact when the registered owner returned to the park and arrested the owner for allowing his vessel to become derelict on the waters of the state.
Levy County
- Officers Jones and Dean responded to a call regarding vehicles off-roading in an area closed to public access due to high water levels. The officers observed vehicle tire sign going around closed gates and significant damage throughout the roadways and trails. The officers found the group of off-roaders and issued citations to vehicle operators for damaging state lands by motor vehicles and entering an area closed to public access.
- Lieutenant Ransom conducted a resource inspection on two subjects hunting dove at Goethe Wildlife Management Area. One of the subjects was in violation of licensing requirements while the other was in violation of hunting with an unplugged shotgun capable of holding more than three shot shells. Warnings were issued for the licensing violations and a citation was issued for hunting migratory gamebirds with an unplugged shotgun.
Nassau County
- Officer Moran and Senior Officer Stuhr observed a vessel that had just pulled out of the water at a boat ramp. Officer Moran asked the subjects if they had any luck to which they stated they had caught four red drum and a spotted sea trout. Upon inspection Officer Moran discovered one of the individuals was in possession of an undersized spotted seatrout and another individual was in possession of an oversized red drum. Officer Moran cited them accordingly.
- Officer Russell responded to a call about a subject fishing from the beach and keeping illegal red drum. Officer Russell conducted a fisheries inspection on a person fishing in the reported location and matched the description from the information he had received. The inspection revealed two undersized red drum in a grocery bag. The subject admitted to harvesting the two illegal fish and was issued two citations for possession of undersized red drum and one citation for possessing over the bag limit of red drum.
- Officer Russell observed two subjects use a cast net to catch fish from a creek from a concealed location. One of the subjects put what appeared to be an undersized red drum in a cooler. When the subjects appeared to be leaving, Officer Russell made contact and conducted a fisheries inspection. The officer found the two subjects in possession of six red drum, four of which were undersized. The two subjects were issued citations for possession of undersized red drum and over the bag limit of red drum and they must appear in court.
Suwannee County
- Lieutenant McDonald heard a single rifle shot close to his location on the opening day of muzzleloader season. He found a vehicle parked near the location of the shot and saw a subject exiting the wood line dressed in camouflage while in possession of a modern rifle. The subject stated they were hunting coyotes but after finding the subject’s treestand location and area baited to attract deer, the subject admitted to hunting deer with the rifle. The subject was cited for the violation.
  CASES
Broward County
- Officers Comartin, Rigali and Bovee conducted a resource inspection on individuals fishing on the shoreline near the Hollywood Blvd. Bridge and the Intracoastal Waterway. Their inspection revealed one individual was in possession of an undersized tripletail, undersized lane snapper, undersized and over-the-bag-limit of gray (mangrove) snapper. Comartin issued the individual notice to appear citations for the violations.
- Officer Bovee conducted a resource inspection on a subject fishing at the Dania Beach Pier. Durin the inspection, the subject stated he caught a stone crab and it was in his cooler. Bovee issued the subject a notice to appear citation for possession of whole stone crabs.
- Officers Rigali and Bovee conducted a resource inspection on a subject fishing at one of the docks at the Intracoastal Waterway in Hollywood. The officers discovered the subject was in possession of undersized and out-of-season flounder. Officers issued the subject notice to appear citations for possession of out-of-season and undersized flounder.
- Officer Rigali conducted resource inspection on a person fishing at the Dania Beach Pier. His inspection revealed the subject was in possession of a flounder, which was in a bucket. Rigali issued the subject a notice to appear citation for possession of out-of-season flounder.
- Officer Olivera observed a vessel at the boat ramp with several safety violations along Alligator Alley. The officer also observed the vessel did not have a displayed hull identification number. Additionally, when the vessel owner pulled the boat out of the water, Olivera noticed the truck’s license plate was covered making the numbers unreadable. Olivera contacted the owner to address the observed violations. The owner advised he purposely covered the tag to avoid red light camera tickets. The owner also said he had been cited for the tag cover previously. Olivera issued the owner a notice to appear citation for the vessel not having a HIN displayed and a traffic citation for the obscured tag.
- Officer Olivera observed a truck towing a vessel on the L5 levee at Holey Land Wildlife Management Area and U.S. 27, which was closed under emergency order due to high water and is well posted and blocked off. Olivera issued the subject a notice to appear citation for violation of the emergency closure.
Hendry County
- Officers Pridgen and Bray responded to a call from a local landowner, who had a trail camera photo of two armed subjects trespassing on his property. Officer Pridgen entered the property on foot and located the two subjects who were dragging a wild hog they had killed while trespassing on the property. Officer Pridgen identified himself and gave the subjects commands to stop. The subjects dropped the wild hog and ran away. Officer Pridgen apprehended the subjects and charged them with trespassing while armed and resisting arrest without violence.
Okeechobee County
- While patrolling the Kissimmee River Public Use Area on the last day of crossbow season, Officer Crosby and Lieutenant Davis observed an airboat running without a flag. A stop of the vessel revealed the vessel registration was expired and the operator was missing required safety gear. Additionally, the operator and passenger were in possession of two recently killed antlerless deer, which they had reported on their deer harvest log. Antlerless deer cannot be taken during the crossbow season on the PUA. The subject was cited for the registration and charges were filed for the deer taken out of season.
Palm Beach County
- Lieutenant Brodbeck responded to a call about an individual cast netting and keeping undersized snook. After observing a subject in the area matching the description provided by the reporting party, he was able to witness the subject cast netting and placing fish in a cooler. Lt. Brodbeck conducted a resource inspection and discovered seven undersized snook in the subject’s cooler. Officer Klein arrived to assist. Lt. Brodbeck questioned the subject, who admitted to cast netting all the undersized snook. Officer Klein arrested the subject and transported him to the Palm Beach Conty jail.
St. Lucie County
- Officer Bingham responded to a report about a subject who had harvested a red drum from the fishing catwalk. When he arrived on scene, he located the subject via the description provided. The reporting party also advised Officer Bingham that he told the harvester the fish was illegal to keep but the subject ignored his warning and replied, “I don’t care.” Officer Bingham contacted the subject and initiated an inspection, which revealed the red drum was in the subject’s vehicle wrapped in a towel. A citation was issued for the violation.
- Officer Bingham responded to a report of subjects catching red drum (redfish) during a closure and keeping snook over the bag limit at a local bridge. Officer Bingham located the subjects and inspected their fishing licenses. He then departed the area and from a concealed position, he observed the subjects fishing. One subject caught two slot size fish, which he kept, storing one in his vehicle. Officer Bingham contacted him in the parking lot as he brought the second fish to his vehicle and measured the fish for compliance. When he asked about the other fish in the vehicle, the subject stated his friend had caught it. The subject was cited for harvest of snook over the bag limit.
- Officer Castle responded to a Wildlife Alert report about two subjects harvesting undersized and over-the-bag limit of snook at Jensen Beach Causeway. The report provided a description of the two subjects and the vehicle they were driving. Officer Castle arrived at the location, found the vehicle in the parking area and conducted surveillance until the subjects packed up their fishing gear and began to return to the vehicle. As they walked to the vehicle one subject retrieved a bucket from an area where sea grapes were growing. The other subject removed a cooler from his back seat and placed it in the bed of his truck. Officer Castle conducted a resource inspection and found two legal size snook in the cooler. When she asked about the bucket, which had been placed on the side of the truck and displayed a tail sticking out from under the cast net, no response was given. The bucket revealed three undersized snook. The subjects were cited for harvest of snook over the daily bag limit and harvest of undersized snook.
- Liuetenant Douglas Rogerson observed two individuals fishing inside the posted and fenced no trespassing area at the C24 canal spillway. A resource inspection revealed a subject possessed a snook over the maximum harvest size of 32 inches. Both subjects were cited for trespassing and one received a warning for the snook violation.
COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING
Broward County
Honor Guard Services Military Veterans
Lieutenant Laubenberger participated in the Honor Flight arriving at Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport. The charter flight had approximately 75 military veterans from WW II, Korean War and Vietnam War. They returned from a day in Washington, D.C. of being honored and visiting the various memorials. Lt. Laubenberger commanded the Broward Police Multi Agency Honor Guard Colors team. The honor guard escorted the veterans through the terminal where about a thousand well-wishers lined the path, celebrating the veterans.
 CASES
Collier County
- While conducting a resource inspection on anglers at the Jolley Bridge, Officer Lypak discovered two undersized snook. After interviewing the subject, he admitted to catching and keeping the two snook and was cited for undersized and over the bag limit for snook.
- While on patrol, Officer Specialist Stearns and Officer Lypak conducted a resource inspection on an individual spearfishing in a freshwater lake. During the inspection, the officers located seven speared peacock bass and one speared Florida bass. The individual also possessed five peacock bass over the bag limit. The individual was issued a notice to appear for seven peacock bass and one Florida bass taken by illegal method and five peacock bass over the bag limit.
Miami-Dade County
- Officer George Reynaud and Major Maza participated in an event hosted by the local Youth mentoring organization “5000 Role Models,” aimed at fostering positive relationships between minority youth and law enforcement. The event featured several police departments alongside Miami Dolphins football players, providing a platform for a panel discussion and open dialogue focused on enhancing police-community relations.
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