What the Hell is this? Sebastian?

miccofl · #1 October 19th, 2005, 07:54 AM

What the Hell is this? Sebastian? was originally posted on the old front page October 17, 2005

It’s not but given the latest from our sorry sheriff’s department one would certainly think so. Up until now I have refrained from naming names, places and specifics in the misguided hope that somehow our Sheriff could gain some kind of control but that has not happened and the problem is only getting worse.

It can be said with certainty now that there are individuals high up in the sheriff’s department and within the county government itself that have it in for Ozzie’s Crabhouse and other local businesses. The county commission itself has done everything it can to restrain trade at Ozzie’s and now the deputies have joined the party (or perhaps they started it) as their actions clearly demonstrate a pattern of harassment and illegal activity directed at the business and its patrons.

Not going to go into the old much, you should be able to put two and two together and figure out the deputies were in Ozzie’s parking lot running tag numbers, pulling over customers and harassing female employees on their way home late at night. One clue for our deputies; Tailgating is illegal. Doing it late at night to a woman in an isolated area without identifying blue lights is harassment (and downright scary for the woman.) Shame on you. That was enough for the owners to insist that the deputies stay off the property. It is private property even though it is a business and they have the right to insist that the deputies stay away unless there is a criminal act in progress (read: they are called or have a warrant.)

A call was made this morning to the south-precinct commander regarding a one-striper named Hammer (shield 359) who refused to leave private property (he was running a speed trap) after being assured only three days prior by Sgt. Vince Ziccardi that there would be no more such incidents, we discovered the shocking truth. They (the deputies and their precinct commander Earl Petty) do think they can do as they please, laws and people be damned. In fact, in Cmdr. Petty’s own words, “We will run our speed traps out of your parking lot and in front of your business any time we want and there is nothing you can do about it. Who do you think you are? People don’t tell us what to do, we do what we want.” And then he actually has the gaul to drag my “criminal record” into the discussion. Twenty years ago I had a scrawny, picked-to-death, 10” tall pot plant growing in my bedroom window and I got popped (PBPD) and a couple years before that I inadvertently bounced a check and forgot about it. TWENTY YEARS AGO when I was young and stupid… Well that was then and this is now and that is not what one would call a serious “criminal record” and certainly not worth bringing into a conversation regarding the harassment of a business. Our call was cut short, it had been patched through to his cell-phone and we got disconnected (at least I hope we were disconnected and he didn’t hang up on me.) Cut-off, hung-up on, whatever, one thing is obvious; Precinct Commander Petty is part of the problem and has no interest in being part of the solution. Once again I had to go through channels and get word to Sheriff Parker who in turn told the deputies to leave. Why is this necessary?

To Sgt. Ziccardi, thanks for trying, you’re one of the few who seems to care about people but you can’t override your superiors.

To Sheriff Parker, please do something about these renegade deputies and their accomplice commander (you should have let him retire) as it will not be long before the businesses that are being harassed get together and file a class action against your department and the county, something that nobody really wants to see happen but it will if the stupidity doesn’t stop soon.

Lester Paul Jones · #2 November 15th, 2005, 06:24 PM

I find it rather interesting and revolting that someone would start an article of any kind referring to our great officers as "...sorry sheriff's department". Then you follow with "....Sheriff could gain some kind of control". Reading the rest of your article it appears to me that you are complaining because of the sheriff's department trying to ".....gain some kind of control".

Do you have any proof of facts that "...the county government itself that have it in for Ozzie's....and other local businesses"? I, personally, (personal opinion - no proof either way) doubt very seriously that you have anything to back up what you have written. I am curious as to how the sherriff's department has harassed or directed any illegal activity at Ozzie's or any other business.

You say the "....deputies were in the parking lot running tag numbers, pulling over customers and harrassing female employees....". First I would like to ask you how do you know this and can you prove it? Second I would like to point out that Ozzie's should be proud to have the deputies making their pesence known. Were the deputies looking for a suspect, escaped criminal, stolen vehicle or were they following up on a lead that someone may be planning to rob a company or place nearby?

You suggest the deputies have been asked to leave but refused. You also suggest they would be welcomed if Ozzie's was in trouble like a break-in or robbery. Have you ever heard the phrase "You can't have your cake and eat it to."? You must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed when you wrote such an article. You mentioned "TWENTY YEARS AGO when I was young and stupid.....". It sounds to me there has been a change - from young to older.

You speak of speed traps and class action lawsuit against the department. Did you know the speed limit is for our safety? If our officers are not able to deter speeders, who do you suggest should have that responsibility? Did you also know many deaths nation wide are the cause of speeders? Did you also know that class action and other lawsuits are causing many problems in our country and some of the large great businesses and corporations to file for bankruptcy, including going out of business? Did you also know when lawsuits are filed, it is the consumer & tax payers that pays for the attorneys to fight the complaint? Did you also know the out of court settlements are also paid by the consumer and tax payer? I could take your article one sentence at the time and rip it apart. That would take a book. I do not have the time to write a book so I will make it more simple.

Five years in the Southern Brevard County area I have constantly heard complaints of not enough patrols in the area. I have never heard of anyone complaining as you have in your article. Did you know at night an officer needs to ride a little closer to vehicles to run license plate numbers? If he already had the number there would have been no need to run the number again. The young ladies should be thankful that we have officers that is there to protect them from rape, kidnapping, robbery and even murder. Of course when someone wants to write about how "....sorry...." someone is, they have a tendency to overlook all the good someone does and pick out things, good or bad, and twist them to bad or worse.

The "shocking truth" is you should get a life and be thankful of the many wonderful things our Sherriff's Department including administative, dispatchers and Deputies do for Southern Brevard County. Yeah, there may be a bad apple in the basket, but from your article I do not think you have found it. Maybe if you stop searching for the negative and start showing appreciation for what our government does for you and the rest in this great county, the effects from the missing part of the plant in your bedroom will wear off.

miccofl · #3 November 15th, 2005, 11:09 PM

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