Reality

Just want you guys to think of a couple of situations pertaining to the PBA. If you think this is the answer to all the problems at your agency then you are indeed truly wrong. Just ask the two former canine guys who were represented by them throughout their investigations. OH WAIT THATS RIGHT YOU CAN'T, CAUSE THEIR GONE! If you guys want to throw $ away every month for union dues do us all a favor and put that money to the Fallen Officers Fund so that it will one day go to sucessful use.

AMEN Brother!!!

Just want you guys to think of a couple of situations pertaining to the PBA. If you think this is the answer to all the problems at your agency then you are indeed truly wrong. Just ask the two former canine guys who were represented by them throughout their investigations. OH WAIT THATS RIGHT YOU CAN'T, CAUSE THEIR GONE! If you guys want to throw $ away every month for union dues do us all a favor and put that money to the Fallen Officers Fund so that it will one day go to sucessful use.

What the hell do you care what the rest of do with our money anyway? If you don't want to be a PBA member then don't join. simple solution, right? Don't worry, nobody's going to force you to use your NAMBLA membership money on the union.

The problem is we don’t have the strength in numbers that we would with a union, look at the Cape and FMPD the officers over there are not having their rights violated like we are. We should use our street smarts and common sense banding together whether we choose PBA or FOP. Look at what’s going on lately and if we don’t do something about it any one of us can be the next victim.

it is very clear that you never worked at FMPD or just do not know anyone there. those guys DONT HAVE RIGHTS at that dept.

I worked for CCPD as well as LCSO for several years. Let me tell you there is NO COMPARISON on the rights of Officers and Deputies. While LCSO has traditionally treated their employees VERY well with salaries and benefits, Cape guys had a fight with City Hall most contract years. A 3% raise was the norm. LCSO was much better. 7% was least I ever got with LCSO under previous administrations. Apparently it's not that way anymore.

Now with that said, let me address fairness and equality of careeer advancement and disciplinary issues. The FOP protected Cape officers from the dispicable, arbitrary, mean spirited and unfair treatment that I watched Deputies receive year after year, case after case under the last three Sheriffs.

I've seen the CCPD FOP save the careers of guys that honestly should have been terminated but more importantly protect officers that deserved protection. The screw ups nearly always step on their willies again where even the union can't save them. On the other hand, I've watched LCSO for years destroy careers of good deputies for nothing more than a personal vendetta of staff members or political payback. Nothing could be done.

Ask yourself how many Cape or FM city officers you have known that were terminated then after a court battle were reinstated and or received BIG settlements from the agency. LCSO has done this dozens of times. The pattern is there for anyone to see. LCSO deputies don't need a bargaining unit, they need protection from the politics of their own leaders.
You will never see an internal investigator turn recorders on and off during interviews at CCPD, you will NEVER worry about who you vote for at CCPD, you will NEVER worry about your personnel file getting padded with fake reprimands or evaluations at CCPD. FOP will make sure there are rules and they are followed. Deputies, you need protection from your own only. Lee County Government has a history of fair salaries and benefits. Under a better economy your pay will come back, you will be fairly compensated. Protect yourself from the self serving fools you work for.

This isn't a shot at the Scott administration, this started long before Mike Scott. He is merely a product of his upbringing. I think he has a good heart and can still improve things if he learns from the past mistakes. Let's hope for everyone's sake.

Finally we have someone who knows what they are talking about making complete sense. My view is this when it comes to an SO rights are sacrificed for politics. The Sheriff just recently traded out on 3 of his closest most trusted people for politics one being his second in command. Common sense tells you he has loyalty to no one, especially the low men on the totem poll, that is scary and any one of us can be thrown to the wolves if he feels it will earn him votes or make one of his close associates happy. I was told that no one in the history of the CCPD has ever taken a polygraph, if this is true that is reason enough to pay 20 dollars a month for a union. I agree that sometimes the Union protects bad apples, but the bad apples will always screw up again and step on themselves. I also think the union would help with the fairness of the promotional process, just recently Kiasa on Boca was promoted to SGT and he wasn’t even on the list, all because he’s buddies with Morgan Bowden who is the Sheriff’s Aid and Smalls was promoted out of order because he is friends with the Sheriff’s friend in Alva this has to stop.




I worked for CCPD as well as LCSO for several years. Let me tell you there is NO COMPARISON on the rights of Officers and Deputies. While LCSO has traditionally treated their employees VERY well with salaries and benefits, Cape guys had a fight with City Hall most contract years. A 3% raise was the norm. LCSO was much better. 7% was least I ever got with LCSO under previous administrations. Apparently it's not that way anymore.

Now with that said, let me address fairness and equality of careeer advancement and disciplinary issues. The FOP protected Cape officers from the dispicable, arbitrary, mean spirited and unfair treatment that I watched Deputies receive year after year, case after case under the last three Sheriffs.

I've seen the CCPD FOP save the careers of guys that honestly should have been terminated but more importantly protect officers that deserved protection. The screw ups nearly always step on their willies again where even the union can't save them. On the other hand, I've watched LCSO for years destroy careers of good deputies for nothing more than a personal vendetta of staff members or political payback. Nothing could be done.

Ask yourself how many Cape or FM city officers you have known that were terminated then after a court battle were reinstated and or received BIG settlements from the agency. LCSO has done this dozens of times. The pattern is there for anyone to see. LCSO deputies don't need a bargaining unit, they need protection from the politics of their own leaders.
You will never see an internal investigator turn recorders on and off during interviews at CCPD, you will NEVER worry about who you vote for at CCPD, you will NEVER worry about your personnel file getting padded with fake reprimands or evaluations at CCPD. FOP will make sure there are rules and they are followed. Deputies, you need protection from your own only. Lee County Government has a history of fair salaries and benefits. Under a better economy your pay will come back, you will be fairly compensated. Protect yourself from the self serving fools you work for.

This isn't a shot at the Scott administration, this started long before Mike Scott. He is merely a product of his upbringing. I think he has a good heart and can still improve things if he learns from the past mistakes. Let's hope for everyone's sake.

Well said!

You guys watch and see. Without Charlie Ferrante to watch his back, the sheriff will show his true colors and his game will become obvious to all. For the past few years, Charlie and Dom and Ciresi were able to go out there and pat guys on the back with their tough guy talk and work the checkpoints with us and show up at roll calls to tell us we could go to town on the "mutts and skells" and not worry about getting jammed up. It gave Mike respect because we knew he had our backs, even as we watched out friends fall and get fired. Now he has horse traded all his friends away for votes and surrounded himself with career brass weinies who haven't seen police work in decades. bald is still the look in the Ivory Tower, but he's traded the shaved head tough guy look for the receeding hairline old putz look. These snakes will only waste a minute or two before they begin to screw us. Mike would put us in pink uniforms and gold carts if he thought it would get him a few votes. Not for him though. He would make sure we all knew how his car and green uniform are dictated by state statue like his raise so he has no choice but to keep on doing what he's doing.

Love him or hate him I have been out on the streets many times with Charlie as an LT. and when he was the Chief and I can tell you this much I would definitely want him taking my back during a fight. He was the only one in admin I could ever remember that would get out on the streets and I have personally seen him mix it up. Did you ever think that the reason Mike sold Charlie out was because he was standing up for us too much. Have we forgotten who was showing up at the hospitals, calling us when we were involved situations and always sending us e-mails? Look at how many IA’s are being open now compared to when Charlie was running things. He might have been a little ruff around the edges but you always knew he had your back and would not allow you to be thrown to the wolves like the jellyfish hallway is doing now. We better all wake up fast, because we are just one popular political opinion away from disaster.




You guys watch and see. Without Charlie Ferrante to watch his back, the sheriff will show his true colors and his game will become obvious to all. For the past few years, Charlie and Dom and Ciresi were able to go out there and pat guys on the back with their tough guy talk and work the checkpoints with us and show up at roll calls to tell us we could go to town on the "mutts and skells" and not worry about getting jammed up. It gave Mike respect because we knew he had our backs, even as we watched out friends fall and get fired. Now he has horse traded all his friends away for votes and surrounded himself with career brass weinies who haven't seen police work in decades. bald is still the look in the Ivory Tower, but he's traded the shaved head tough guy look for the receeding hairline old putz look. These snakes will only waste a minute or two before they begin to screw us. Mike would put us in pink uniforms and gold carts if he thought it would get him a few votes. Not for him though. He would make sure we all knew how his car and green uniform are dictated by state statue like his raise so he has no choice but to keep on doing what he's doing.