Brevard County Sheriff Fails to Keep Public Informed

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

0 4 minutes read

It doesn't bother me that the Brevard County Sheriff doesn't talk to FLORIDA TODAY, nor does he allow his employees to talk to us.

I don't mind that he unsuccessfully tried to harm our business by advocating that Brevard municipalities file their legal notices elsewhere.

We need to ask the right, and perhaps uncomfortable, questions if Sheriff Wayne Ivey is this warped by our mere existence. And of course, he has his supporters who applaud his efforts and vilify us whenever we criticize him. He must be the only elected official in history who is above all questioning.

But now the public is screaming at us, seeking information about train crashes, child deaths, a body found at Melbourne Beach, searches for low-flying helicopters in their neighborhoods and much more. Because Ivey went from law and order sheriff to silent one.

When an elected official no longer communicates information to the same citizens who brought him to power, then something is broken. Recently, residents of the Melbourne Beach area called and emailed us and took to social media to ask us about a dead body found, low-flying search helicopters and deputies of the Brevard County Sheriff, guns drawn, searching… for a killer on the loose? A mad man? A child molester? We do not know it.

No one in the audience knows.

A resident on the NextDoor app asked: “Does anyone know what happened yesterday at Ponce de Leon Beach?” Another person asked, “12 sheriff’s cars and helicopters in Ponce de Leon Beach? What's happening at Melbourne Beach?

Others posted: “Did anyone say anything about a shooting??” “Apparently it’s a secret.”

More: Questions remain about helicopter and deputy's presence this weekend at Melbourne Beach

The small Melbourne Beach Police Department received so many calls from concerned residents that Chief Tim Zander issued the following statement:

“To our residents in the Town of Melbourne Beach: We received numerous calls today regarding the Sheriff's Office call for service that they investigated yesterday in the county area. Officers from the Melbourne Beach Police Department assisted them in searching for a person in the county area. No residents of the Town of Melbourne Beach were in danger and the subject was located. As for the Sheriff's Office's investigation, you will need to contact them for any information on the case.”

And still no word.

There was an equally alarming lack of information a few days later when I received an email from a woman who told me she had received a phone call from a parent telling her that the child she had she used to host died in a hot car in Indialantic. Not a word of information from the sheriff.

In both cases, FLORIDA TODAY reporter Jeff Gallop called, emailed and texted the sheriff's office requesting information. After calls to the Tallahassee Department of Children and Families, the Brevard County Fire Department and other agencies, the sheriff's office was able to respond seven days after the child's death with basic public records on the case, but without any additional information. Gallop is still awaiting information regarding the Melbourne Beach incident.

More: Woman killed in Brightline-related collision in Rockledge area

There have also been no reports of injuries or deaths involving a Brightline train in the past month. We know someone died because our reporter was there and saw the blanket wrapped over the body. However, no press release, no information. Are the train crossing arms in working order? Was anyone pushed into the path of the train? Was it an accident? Your guess is as good as mine.

In the past, the sheriff issued press releases containing this type of vital public information. Today, he spends his time filming “Saturday Night Live”-style TV shows and his Wheel of Fortune parody, “Wheel of Fugitive.” These cringe attempts at humor should not take precedence over public safety. Melbourne Beach residents spent days wondering if there was a murderer on the loose. They still don't know what happened.

Part of the sheriff's mission statement talks about “building community and professional partnerships.” It seems to me that communication is essential to achieve this objective of “building a community”. But he is also violating the law he was elected to serve by failing to respond to numerous requests for records or information.

Compare the sheriff's lack of communication with the Florida Highway Patrol, which sends out multiple press releases a day, including six on June 14, in an effort to keep citizens safe and informed. The Osceola Sheriff's Office sent us eight press releases in the first two weeks of June. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FDLE, sent six during the same period.

Releases from our sheriff? Not one.

In fact, the last statement posted on the sheriff's website was April 14, more than two months ago.

I last contacted the sheriff in April about a story I was writing. I called his cell phone and left messages. I texted him. I sent him an email. I even went so far as to contact his campaign manager. The Sheriff's Records Department surprised me with a partial answer to one of my questions in May, although eight days after my request and four days after the story was published.

I also reached out to the sheriff and his PIO to see if he would like to comment on this story, perhaps explain the silence or correct me if I have something wrong. No answer.

Maybe the next time something happens, instead of calling us to ask why there's no article online or in the newspaper, call the sheriff's office and ask.

Contact Torres at [email protected]. You can follow him on @johnalbertorres or on Facebook at facebook.com/FTjohntorres.

Lina Portman

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