15 Retail Arrests Made (video)

[Media]

The Sarasota Sheriff’s Office arrested 15 people in a three-day operation targeting retail theft in Sarasota County.

Full story:
http://www.mysuncoast.com/2018/11/20...rasota-county/

[Unregistered]

For those out there that think it's OK to relieve "overcrowding" in jails and/or prisons by releasing the non-violent inmates who have only been charged or convicted of minor drug charges need to understand that these types of crimes are committed by dirtbags to purchase their minor drug offenses. I have retired after 20+ years with SSO and when I have been dealing with Jesse Fleming since the mid 90's. As you can see by the criminal histories of these pieces of $hit that they need to be KEPT in jail or prison to stop these crimes. For those around long enough you'll remember Steve Hall saying that 90% of crimes are committed for drugs and here's more evidence of that.

[Unregistered]

The Sarasota Sheriff’s Office arrested 15 people in a three-day operation targeting retail theft in Sarasota County.
Full story:
http://www.mysuncoast.com/2018/11/20...rasota-county/

Lieutenant Dan Tutko is the narrator in the video. He is an excellent speaker and is clean-cut and photogenic and looks good in his pressed uniform. However, during a traffic stop, he asked a K-9 deputy to lie by claiming that the search dog "alerted" to drugs during a sniff test (by walking the dog around the driver's car) – when, in fact, the dog did NOT alert. Technically, if the dog alerts, then it gives deputies the legal authority to search the car for drugs without the owners consent. Fortunately, the K-9 deputy refused to lie for Tutko – and instead, the K-9 deputy reported Tutko's actions to Sheriff Tom Knight.

So what was the outcome?

No punishment was imposed on Tutko and the whistleblowing K-9 deputy was transferred out of the K9 unit as political retaliation or punishment. Then Knight promoted Tutko to lieutenant. The Herald-Tribune newspaper covered the incident here:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article...falsify-search

[Unregistered]

Have we forgotten about Dan's lack of understanding the 4th amendment? After asking permission to enter a home and bring told numerous times NO, he continues pestering the homeowner by continuously asking permission to enter. After asking numerous time the homeowner decides to not answer so in his walnut sized brain he takes that as a yes and enters the home. Or what about the time he was doing a search warrant and hit the wrong house, just off by one house, oops. Lest we not forget his total lack of officer safety during a traffic stop with a suspected DUI driver. When the operator of the pickup truck was told to turn off the ignition and failed to do so, Dingleberry Dan climbed up on the truck and reached in through the open window, not an open door, to shut the ignition off. First, where was he ever taught to do that and second why would anyone with at least half a brain do that? Well it was no surprise that the operator grabbed Dingleberry's arm and locked it against the door while simultaneously placing the vehicle in drive taking Dingleberry for a ride. That was until Dingleberry fell off the truck, almost got run over and sustained some pretty good injuries. Oh Yeah, I want this doofus as a leader, but then again, remember who the ringleader of this circus is! he never gets disciplined, only promoted! Seems to be a common thread since Bumbling Billy was the ringleader and he promoted the lying adulterer who was thenarrater of the DNA segment on WWSB news.

[Unregistered]

Have we forgotten about Dan's lack of understanding the 4th amendment? After asking permission to enter a home and being told numerous times NO, he continues pestering the homeowner, by continuously asking her permission to enter. After asking her numerous time, the homeowner finally decides to ignore him, so in his walnut sized brain, he interprets that as a "consent to search and enter her home."

Or what about the time he was doing a search warrant and he hit the wrong house, oops.

Lest we not forget his total lack of officer safety during a traffic stop with a suspected DUI driver: The operator of a truck was told to turn off the ignition and failed to do so, Dingleberry Dan then climbed up on the truck and inside the driver's window to take the ignition key. First off, exactly where was he ever trained to do that? Second off, why would anyone with a brain do that? The operator drove away, taking Dingleberry for a ride, until Dingleberry fell off the truck and sustained some injuries.

Oh Yeah, I want this doofus as a leader, but then again, remember who the ringleader of this circus is! He never gets disciplined, but only promoted!

The rank and file of the Sarasota Sheriff's Office is good, but it seems like narcissistic, lying megalomaniacs get promoted into the senior ranks. Those unique characteristics rise to the top in law enforcement. Outsiders (civilians) do not see it, but insiders (LEOs) see it clearly because we have to live with it. Look at the leadership histories of the command staff of the Sarasota Sheriff's Office, beginning with Sheriff Tom Knight:

• The FBI denied Sheriff Tom Knight a Top Secret security clearance, due to his immoral proclivities. He was also arrested by Venice police officers for disorderly conduct when he got sloppy drunk and emotionally out-of-control over "woman issues." He subsequently got into a violent fight. It shows his past (and present) emotional outbursts in public. Then earlier this year (2018), Knight was caught (1) undermining the school board budget and (2) calling other elected officials names, while he was on-duty and getting paid with tax dollars. Knight remains defiant (that's par for the course) and remains angry that the Herald-Tribune newspaper "wrote him up" on it for everyone to read. Here is the article:
  https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/2...superintendent

• Colonel Kurt Hoffman failed a polygraph test about stealing from multiple victims and from multiple employers. Hoffman confessed to:
  - stealing pornography from a store
  - stealing a boat from a citizen
  - stealing other things from past employers
  - stealing gasoline while working as a reserve deputy for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office (twice).
  Knight still promoted Hoffman. Here is the article:
  https://www.scribd.com/document/3224...t-Hoffman-News

• Captain John Walsh was investigated for screwing another deputy's wife. The deputy caught Walsh in bed with her and he filed a complaint against the agency. (1) While under oath during an IA investigation, Walsh denied it during three separate interviews. That's a lot of lying. (2) Then Walsh then got Detective Mark Macale to lie as a false alibi. Getting another sworn officer to lie under oath for you is about as crooked and dirty as it gets around here. And that's only for those who are caught (the tip of the iceberg). However, Macale finally cracked and told the truth to the investigator - and he admitting that he lied as a false alibi for Walsh - but Walsh continued lying (because he didn't know that Macale had cracked). Balkwill promoted Walsh - and then Knight promoted Walsh to captain. Here are the articles about it:
  https://www.scribd.com/document/3214...ohn-Walsh-News

• Ron Locke has retired, but it's important to dredge-up his connection to Knight. Sergeant Chris Iorio (retired) and Deputy Kevin Sugg told Knight that Locke impregnated a juvenile female - and then made her abort the baby, which pissed off the mother even more. Knight refused to investigate the crime, so FDLE conducted the investigation. Here is the newspaper article:
  http://www.heraldtribune.com/article...ICLE/120619799
  Then Knight arranged for the two whistle blowing deputies to be suspended without pay on trumped up allegations (as revenge). The article is here:
  https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1P...ed-by-sergeant

• Captain Kevin McElyea failed a lie detector tests about sleeping with another man's wife (the husband caught them in bed together). McElyea denied it, so the husband secretly recorded McElyea discussing how to suppress or hide the evidence - and the husband gave the secret recording to Knight. Knight flushed the case and promoted McElyea to captain. Here is the lie detector test:
  http://s1179.photobucket.com/user/Pe...rOath.gif.html

• During a traffic stop, Sergeant Dan Tutko asked a K-9 deputy to lie by claiming that the search dog "alerted" to drugs during a sniff test (by walking the dog around the driver's car) – when, in fact, the dog did NOT alert. Technically, if the dog alerts, then it gives deputies the legal authority to search the car for drugs, without the owners consent. Fortunately, the K-9 deputy refused to lie for Tutko – and instead, the K-9 deputy reported Tutko's actions to Sheriff Tom Knight. So what was the outcome? Knight imposed no punishment on Tutko. Instead, Knight punished the whistleblowing K-9 deputy and kicked him out of the K-9 unit as political retaliation. Then Knight infamously promoted Tutko to lieutenant. The Herald-Tribune newspaper article is here:
  http://www.heraldtribune.com/article...falsify-search

Narcissistic, lying, dirty, immoral, criminal, megalomaniacs are routinely promoted by Sheriff Tom Knight into his inner circle. All that glitters is not gold. Good, honest, hardworking people suffer greatly for it.

[Unregistered]

Dan made a lot of mistakes in his career more than most, but haven't we all? The one I remember the most is the car chase. It made me feel ill for a week and for what? Also the one where he used his powers against a love interest's boyfriend. That ended up in IA for him and Kirk remember Dan? I worked with him closely and know him well. Dan's only fault was (in my opinion) he always he took this job personally and maybe somewhere he misunderstood the part about protecting the constitution first (as so many do). His greed for getting a seizure of dope overwhelmed the need to protect the basic rights that are afforded to us all and therefore he made mistakes. Having said all of that I want to say that Dan really is a decent guy and a good father (also a cop who will help you when you need him). I truly believe that he thinks he is doing the right thing, when these events occur. Some of us lose our way and look upon the very people we are sworn to protect with disdain. We end up bitter and burnt and forgetful of what it all means to serve them.

Perhaps we give Dan a chance to see if he will protect the Constitution and the rights of citizen's (in his new position) first having to make a choice between our fore father's will or the luster and fanfare that comes with a large drug seizure (it can be a trying moment for any man). Sometimes doing the right thing is hard. Going about a drug seizure the wrong way makes you a cheater. You can't ever truly win if you don't play the game fair. If you violate a person's rights to make a case then in the end you will be holding a trophy you do not deserve and what's more, you will never how it feels to win.

I am all for making the SSO great again (had to : ) ) and propping up our people. I am tired of people blaming Knight. Knight is not at fault, we are! We brought him in to our house. We allowed him to take the highest office and then we stood by and did nothing while all of these changes and promotion took place. We were cowards. Yes you were there too. These changes we allowed have torn us apart for the longest time now and caused many of good man to walk away from our home in utter disgust, with head held low. Disgust is in no way how any man or woman should leave here after giving everything for so many years. Yes we are to blame for letting him get away with all that he has done, all the distrustful men he has promoted, and all the money he has so carelessly spent. So stop wasting your time on getting on this site and telling us what a bad man he is and start working (in real life) to rid this place of him and his ideals. Go easy on Dan after all it is not his fault that he keeps getting promoted, it is yours to carry. After all you wrote the check.

Prop up your bothers and sisters in green. We are all here because of the greatness that has come before us and the idea of being apart of an amazing place. Be proud of our agency and the people that serve along side you. Treat your subordinates with the highest regards and lead from the front. I have faith that our once proud and amazing office will earn back the respect that is so deserves! In closing I would ask you to take a test with yourself. Ask yourself if you would work at the SSO for free if it came down to it. If you struggle with the answer then your heart is in the right place. If it is an immediate no, then what? Stay positive my brothers and sisters and remember "you are only as good as your last call".

[Unregistered]

Dan made a lot of mistakes in his career more than most, but haven't we all? The one I remember the most is the car chase. It made me feel ill for a week and for what? Also the one where he used his powers against a love interest's boyfriend. That ended up in IA for him and Kirk remember Dan? I worked with him closely and know him well. Dan's only fault was (in my opinion) he always he took this job personally and maybe somewhere he misunderstood the part about protecting the constitution first (as so many do). His greed for getting a seizure of dope overwhelmed the need to protect the basic rights that are afforded to us all and therefore he made mistakes. Having said all of that I want to say that Dan really is a decent guy and a good father (also a cop who will help you when you need him). I truly believe that he thinks he is doing the right thing, when these events occur. Some of us lose our way and look upon the very people we are sworn to protect with disdain. We end up bitter and burnt and forgetful of what it all means to serve them.

Perhaps we give Dan a chance to see if he will protect the Constitution and the rights of citizen's (in his new position) first having to make a choice between our fore father's will or the luster and fanfare that comes with a large drug seizure (it can be a trying moment for any man). Sometimes doing the right thing is hard. Going about a drug seizure the wrong way makes you a cheater. You can't ever truly win if you don't play the game fair. If you violate a person's rights to make a case then in the end you will be holding a trophy you do not deserve and what's more, you will never how it feels to win.

I am all for making the SSO great again (had to : ) ) and propping up our people. I am tired of people blaming Knight. Knight is not at fault, we are! We brought him in to our house. We allowed him to take the highest office and then we stood by and did nothing while all of these changes and promotion took place. We were cowards. Yes you were there too. These changes we allowed have torn us apart for the longest time now and caused many of good man to walk away from our home in utter disgust, with head held low. Disgust is in no way how any man or woman should leave here after giving everything for so many years. Yes we are to blame for letting him get away with all that he has done, all the distrustful men he has promoted, and all the money he has so carelessly spent. So stop wasting your time on getting on this site and telling us what a bad man he is and start working (in real life) to rid this place of him and his ideals. Go easy on Dan after all it is not his fault that he keeps getting promoted, it is yours to carry. After all you wrote the check.

Prop up your bothers and sisters in green. We are all here because of the greatness that has come before us and the idea of being apart of an amazing place. Be proud of our agency and the people that serve along side you. Treat your subordinates with the highest regards and lead from the front. I have faith that our once proud and amazing office will earn back the respect that is so deserves! In closing I would ask you to take a test with yourself. Ask yourself if you would work at the SSO for free if it came down to it. If you struggle with the answer then your heart is in the right place. If it is an immediate no, then what? Stay positive my brothers and sisters and remember "you are only as good as your last call".

Now this is a positive message! Why isn't this guy our Sheriff? This poster is right! It is time for us to find a new Car1. Tired of this admin. New front man needed. We have about one year to find a man or woman.

[Unregistered]

Knight is not at fault, we are! We brought him in to our house. We allowed him to take the highest office and then we stood by and did nothing while all of these changes and promotion took place. We were cowards. Yes you were there too. Yes we are to blame for letting him get away with all that he has done, all the distrustful men he has promoted.

Well said.

So stop wasting your time on getting on this site and telling us what a bad man Knight is and start working (in real life) to rid this place of him and his deeds.

And do it all under Knight’s radar.

Dan made a lot of mistakes in his career more than most? His greed for getting a seizure of dope overwhelmed the need to protect the basic rights that are afforded to us all. I truly believe that he thinks he is doing the right thing, when these events occur.

That makes him even more dangerous to the community.

Perhaps we give Dan a chance to see if he will protect the Constitution.

He systemically violated citizens’ Constitutional rights, but has risen to a senior executive leadership position in the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office. Now is not the time to “see if he will protect the Constitution.” In reality:
- he should not be in a leadership position in the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office
- he is not mature enough to be responsible for the Constitution
- he is a Knight clone

Do you agree?

All of his Constitutional violations (that you posted) are only what made the newspapers. The vast majority of his Constitutional violations remain undetected by the general public and are not documented. That makes him even more dangerous. What makes it into the newspaper is “fractional disclosure” in the big picture.

CONCLUSION: He is a prime example of systemic moral character issues at the top of the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office, beginning with Knight’s handpicked, photogenic, charismatic, megalomaniacs who look good in uniform. All that glitters is not gold.

It is time for us to find a new Car1. Tired of this admin. We have about one year to find a man or woman.

Yep, that is crystal clear and true. However, Tom Knight and Kurt Hoffman are embedded with political promises and financial backing from the local GOP. Why would the GOP want to unseat Knight & Hoffman when they carry the electorally advantaged seat of the incumbency? The general public is oblivious Knight's moral character issues (along with the moral character issues of his hand-picked command staff). Only the indictment of Knight - or a second publicized arrest of Knight - can cause him to be unseated from the office of Sarasota sheriff. And you know it's true.

[Unregistered]

It is time for us to find a new Car1. Tired of this admin. New front man needed. We have about one year to find a man or woman.

Feast your eyes on these SSO employee election facts:

Sarasota Sheriff’s Department employees number about 1000, which is waaaaaay less than 1% of the total population in Sarasota County (about 450,000+ people). SSO employees are statistically insignificant during a sheriff’s re-election campaign (more on that in a second).

Only about 2-3% (or less) of the 1000 SSO employees will openly involve themselves with SSO election politics (that’s about 10-12 employees, at most). The other 980+ employees are too scared (or wise?) to put their necks on the line for a sheriff’s election.

The above means three things for you:

• 1. SSO employees are statistically insignificant to a sheriff’s election (that’s in technical parlance).
• 2. Sheriff Knight knows it.
• 3. That explains why SSO old timers explain that without a publicized arrest or indictment of a sitting sheriff, it is statistically impossible to electorally unseat him via using SSO employees.
• 4. The sheriff has his command staff who will openly politic for his re-election bid.
• 5. This silly website (leoaffairs) means nothing. Refer back #2 for a dose of reality.

[Unregistered]

Feast your eyes on these SSO employee election facts:

Sarasota Sheriff’s Department employees number about 1000, which is waaaaaay less than 1% of the total population in Sarasota County (about 450,000+ people). SSO employees are statistically insignificant during a sheriff’s re-election campaign (more on that in a second).

Only about 2-3% (or less) of the 1000 SSO employees will openly involve themselves with SSO election politics (that’s about 10-12 employees, at most). The other 980+ employees are too scared (or wise?) to put their necks on the line for a sheriff’s election.

The above means three things for you:

• 1. SSO employees are statistically insignificant to a sheriff’s election (that’s in technical parlance).
• 2. Sheriff Knight knows it.
• 3. That explains why SSO old timers explain that without a publicized arrest or indictment of a sitting sheriff, it is statistically impossible to electorally unseat him via using SSO employees.
• 4. The sheriff has his command staff who will openly politic for his re-election bid.
• 5. This silly website (leoaffairs) means nothing. Refer back #2 for a dose of reality.

Underestimating your opponent ? Basic rule of engagement mistake and you know it is true....if we are so "insignificant" then why does the Sheriff care what we say about him during an election? From what you say it should not matter what opinion we give the voters, right??? If this site is so silly then why are you here? Ever heard of Stephanie Gibson and NPPD leo affairs? Ask Kevin Vespia how he feels about this silly little web site. Also if this site is so silly then why did the Florida Sheriff's Association want it taken down? If social media means nothing during and election then why does the Sheriff shovel propaganda on facebook? Just asking. I have more faith in the SSO employees this time out.