The 2008 ATM (Annual Training Meeting) in Orlando was a big success.

Registration and Opening Session

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Trooper Lion Gill's Outstanding Class on Officer Safety

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The Banquet

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Members of the Venice Unit were invited by the North Port Police Department to participate in the "National Night Out" event on August 5th. It is a national event that brings law enforcement together with the community, so we will be mingling with the public and handing out give-aways. About 250 were in attendance. Auxiliary Troopers Joseph Douthett and Pat Flynn along with Recruit Dennis Moore, Trooper Ed Pope and Trooper Jennifer Drake participated.

Troop F Recruiting Efforts Continue

Recruiting efforts for Troop F -- On Friday, April 4th we were invited to set up our recruiting booth for the Lakewood Ranch Block Party. We had the opportunity to tell our story to many of the residents in hopes of adding new members to the Bradenton Unit.

Venice Unit Provides Police Escort to raise funds for family of fallen officer in Port Charlotte

Crew gets ready (l to r) Tpr. Pat Flynn, Capt. John Prescott, Sgt. Mark Nazzarese, Tpr. Joe Saladino, Capt. Wade Osborn, Tpr. Joe Douthett	Capt. Wade Osborn, Trooper Hause & Tpr. Joe Saladino discuss the run.	Despite the rain, it was a good run and funds were raised for the children of a fallen officer.

Venice Unit Commander, Capt. John Donovan requested help from the Auxiliary on Thursday to search for Denise Amber Lee, the missing daughter of a Charlotte County Sheriff's Lieutenant. Auxiliary Captains Wade Osborn and John Prescott along with A/Sgt. Mark Nzzarese responded. Venice Trooper Ed Pope spotted the suspect vehicle on I-75 just south of the 179 (Toledo Blade) exit. Trooper Pope stopped the vehicle and arrested Michael Lee King shortly after. Ms. Lee was abducted from her North Port home Thursday. Her husband arrived home and found their two young children alone. FHP and FHPA participated in a street by street search for Denise till early in the morning with no luck. The search continues today at a lake near Toledo Blade where we found tire tracks running off the road. North Port and Sarasota PD have a large group working the search. This was also a good example of FHPA working well with other departments. The PD welcomed us as part of the search team. One FHP or FHPA was teamed up with one PD so we all had radio communications.

 A/Trooper Tom Anzelone is now serving as the Quartermaster for the Troop F Auxiliary members. If you have uniform issues, he is now your contact. Send him an email at: tanzelone@tampabay.rr.com
 

On Saturday, members of the Venice Unit competed in the 2nd Annual Charlotte County "Run & Gun" competition.

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A/Lt. John Prescott Awarded Trooper of the Year 2006 at ATM.

On Saturday, June 16, 2007 at the Florida Highway Patrol Annual Training Meeting (ATM) in Orlando, Lt. John J. Prescott was awarded the "David A. Coley Auxiliary Officer of the Year Award" for the year 2006. This is the second year in a row the award went to Troop F. Last year Capt. Osborn received the honor.

 

"This award is the highest and most prestigious recognition that can be bestowed upon any member of the FHP Auxiliary" said Major Ed Cleveland, Commander Troop F. The award was presented to Lt. Prescott by the Auxiliary Commander, Colonel Stephen Sheffer, FHP Commander Colonel Christopher Knight, Attorney General Bill McCollum and State House Representative Ms. Marti Coley at the Annual Awards Banquet.

 

Left to right:

Colonel Christopher Knight, Commander Florida Highway Patrol

Honorable Bill McCollum, Attorney General for the State of Florida

Lt. John J. Prescott

Honorable Marti Coley, Florida State House of Representatives 

Colonel Stephen Sheffer, Commander Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary

 

The award reads "2006 David A. Coley Auxiliary Officer of the Year Award -- Lt. John Prescott" with the FHP logo etched in the top.
 

Brian Eurice was recently sworn in as an Auxiliary Trooper in the Bradenton Unit. On Sunday he worked his first football detail. On that Sunday the Eurice Family had two siblings working on the field. You see Brian's sister DeShay is a Buccaneers Cheerleader.

At the Buccaneers Football game on Sunday November 5, 2006 News Channel 8 Interviewed A/Lt. John J. Prescott, Troop F Recruiter and Public Information Officer, during the 12 O' Clock News Show about the role of the Auxiliary at Raymond James Stadium. During that interview Lt. Prescott was able to promote the FHPA and invite potential applicants to join. Click here to play the video clip (you must have high speed internet to see the video).

Seven members of the Venice Unit participated in the "Football Weekend" detail. Four members went up Saturday for the USF game, stayed over night, then worked the Buccaneers game on Sunday. Three additional members drove up Sunday morning.

Click here to see the News Channel 8 Report on "Volunteer Police" featuring Chief Rayburn.

(You need a high speed connection to see the video)

On Saturday, March 17th members of Troop F setup a booth to recruit new applicants for the Clewiston Unit.

On Wednesday, November 15th members of the Venice Unit along with two full time troopers conducted an Equipment Check Point in Englewood. 81 vehicles were checked, 15 warnings, 6 citations and 4 faulty equipment tickets were issued. Here are some pictures of that detail.

On Wednesday, September 6th Troopers and Auxiliary Troopers from the Venice unit teamed up for an Equipment Check Point in Port Charlotte. Here are some pictures of that detail.

From June 29th to July 2nd Troopers and Auxiliary Troopers from Troop F joined other units from around Florida to provide police services to the city of Daytona Beach for the "Pepsi 400" race weekend. We provided traffic control and patrol services around the race track and up on the freeway. It required long work days, but all came away with a feeling of a job well done.

It all starts with the briefing. Then you need to check out the stadium. Check out the "pit". The fans arrive. Now the 'troopers' try to figure out what's next. The Lt. Col. Takes charge! Trooper VanArsdale tries to get the drivers attention. When that doesn't work, A/Trooper Mark Nazzarese tries. Capt. Osborn thought this was his police car. But then we had to go to work. Here Trooper VanArsdale and A/Lt. Prescott work a traffic accident. VanArsdale controls traffic as paramedics arrive.   And, we had to have dinner. VanArsdale and Nazzarese settle in to Out Back Steak House for some great grub. A/Lt. Newbold and A/Tpr. Bob Hutt appreciate Out Back's hospitality. The waitress seems happy that we are here. Or, at lease, she feels secure! A/Capt. Osborn explains to Tpr. VanArsdale that there is no check. We are guests of Out Back!!

On Thursday February 23, 2006 Troopers from Troop F - Venice Station teamed up with Auxiliary Troopers for the second time to catch red light violators in Charlotte County. There were two "spotter stations" with a Trooper and an Auxiliary Recruit working undercover. The trooper identified violators then broadcast the violation to waiting units in the area. The Auxiliary recruit maintained the written log. The detail began with a briefing from Trooper Pope. A press interview was conducted with Auxiliary Capt. Osborn and Trooper Pope. Assignments to teams and posts were given out to the Troopers. Trooper Pope and Auxiliary Recruit Flynn 'undercover' and in position. The other 'undercover' post. A 'disabled vehicle'. Trooper Williams and Volunteer Roth waiting for 'red light runners'. Trooper Hause & Auxiliary Capt. Osborn catch a biker. Capt. Darby & Auxiliary Trooper Klopfenstein stop a red light runner on SR-41. Hause & Osborn catch two more bikers that ran the light. They looked so real, here is a citizen stopping to offer help to the poor 'homeless' guys! After the successful detail there is the de-briefing. Left to right: Recruit Flynn, Vol. Roth, Aux. Sgt. Fineman, Trooper Williams, Aux. Trooper Cannon, Corp. Staley, Trooper Drake. Sergeant Head, Sergeant Cardwell & Trooper Hause.

Here is the article printed in the Sun Herold Weekly Newspaper. (I added the pictures.)

02/24/06 Disguised cops nab red-light runners Florida Highway Patrol troopers stop 27 drivers PORT CHARLOTTE -- Edward Pope normally doesn't wear a long, brown curly wig to work. He also rarely sits at a street corner with a sign that reads, "Will work for food." He did both Thursday. Pope also held a sign warning motorists: "Don't Run Red Lights." They ignored him. Drivers didn't realize the "homeless man" sitting outside the Shell gas station at U.S. 41 and Olean Boulevard was actually a Florida Highway Patrol trooper. Every time a driver ignored Pope's sign, he called his colleagues who were stationed around the area waiting to chase down a red-light runner. "Operation Red Light" netted 63 traffic stops during the patrol's first sting Jan. 27, Pope said. State troopers created the operation to educate the public and prevent this year from becoming another deadly one on Charlotte County roads. "We're trying to do everything we possibly can," Pope said. In 2004, there were 37 traffic deaths recorded in Charlotte. The number climbed to 47 last year. "This is basically something we started to fix the fatality rates," Pope said. The handful of troopers from Charlotte and Sarasota counties joined nine auxiliary troopers, who are trained volunteers. North Port resident Patrick Flynn joined Pope on Thursday and dressed as a homeless man, giving the troopers another set of eyes for red-light runners. "I think it's actually a good thing," said Flynn, who works as a car sales manager in Palmetto. "We did one last month, and it was pretty effective." Citizens who learned about the operation donated pizzas to feed the troopers before their 4 p.m. sting began. "The public has been real supportive," Pope said. Troopers stopped three motorists just five minutes into the sting. Sgt. Conner Cardwell and Trooper Jim Wiley first stopped a Punta Gorda woman, who said she just wasn't thinking when she ran the light. Pope said many drivers are preoccupied with cell phones, putting on their makeup or doing other tasks when running red lights. Cardwell and Wiley also stopped a teenage girl who tried to suppress pre-tear quivers as she spoke of never being pulled over by an officer. Her shaky voice never steadied as the tears began falling. She, like many others Thursday, received a $180.50 ticket along with 4 points on her license. A driver can receive up to 12 points on a license in a 12-month period before it is suspended, Cardwell said. A gas leak north of the sting area may have reduced the number of red-light runners because it caused heavier-than-usual U.S. 41 traffic Thursday, Pope said. Troopers ticketed 27 red-light runners and issued four additional citations during the two-hour operation, Pope said. The highway patrol plans to conduct similar operations in the future. You can e-mail Christy Arnold at carnold@sun-herald.com. By CHRISTY ARNOLD Staff Writer

Following are pictures from the firearms class at DCI on August 5, 2006.

Following are pictures from the firearms range qualification at DCI on August 27, 2006.

The ASR class was held at the Bradenton Station on Saturday, October 21st. Click here to see all 122 pictures.

On Saturday, December 2nd Troop F conducted troop wide Shotgun Training. Here are some pictures of that event. Please note, if you would  like to print any of the pictures on this web site, right click on the picture and select "Save Picture As". Then save it to your hard drive and print it from there.

On Saturday, December 9th The Venice Unit sponsored a "Child Safety Day" in Port Charlotte. Thanks to WalMart we were able to give away over 150 child safety helmets. Here are the pictures of that event.

Major Ed. Cleveland

Capt. Andy Ehrhart

Tpr. Thomas Anzelone

Tpr. Brain Eurice

Tpr. Niccola Gigliotti

Tpr. Willie Noel

Tpr. Barbara Ehrhart (Instructor)

Capt. James Reynolds

Sgt. Dave McGee

Tpr. Robert Brooks

Tpr. Steve Conrad

Tpr. Robert Culberson

Tpr. Tim Burtcher (Instructor)

Capt. Bob Rice

Lt. John Prescott

Lt. Matt Fineman

Tpr. Joseph Douthett

Tpr. Patrick Flynn

Tpr. Jim Knowlton

Tpr. Gary Rentz

Tpr. Alan Williams (Instructor)

Capt. John Rumsey

Sgt. Ed. Trimner

Sgt. Dave Bush

Tpr. Roger Stead

Tpr. Jim Larson

Cpl. Linda Powell (Instructor)