Sheriff’s Lack of Response Frustrates Land O' Lakes Resident

[NewsHound]

From NewPortRichey.Patch.com

Most people don’t have to call the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office more than a few times in their lives, if at all.

Clay Colson has had to make that call three times in recent history. All three times, he said, the sheriff’s office has handled his complaints poorly.

“You and your department have been in the news a lot lately regarding proposals, wants, needs all to improve your performance,” Colson wrote in a Sept. 16 email to Sheriff Chris Nocco. “The one thing no one is addressing is Sheriff's Departments failure to serve and protect the citizens of Pasco. The following will delineate 3 of those failures inside the last 6 months.”

Colson went on to detail three separate incidents he called into the sheriff’s office.

Colson is an environmental activist who unsuccessfully challenged Pasco County Commissioner Pat Mulieri for her seat in 2010. He's also a board director and water issues chair for Citizens for Sanity.

The 1st Case

The first case involved a February 2011 theft at Colson’s Land O’ Lakes home, which is now closed. Colson was able to track the items stolen from his home to Pasco Iron & Metal in Land O’ Lakes where he said the items were sold as scrap. The sheriff’s office, however, says it investigated, but was unable to make an arrest in that specific case.

“Mr. Colson stated he recognized some of his stolen property (batteries and aluminum) from pictures at Pasco Iron & Metal,” wrote Kevin Doll, the sheriff’s office’s spokesman in an email. “Detective Gibellino had information on the subject scraping the property from another case. He was able to arrest the subject for his other case but cannot determine if the batteries were positively from Mr. Colson’s case. These subjects have an extensive history of scraping and many times would scrap batteries. We cannot prove that the batteries in question were actually stolen.”

A 2nd Run-in with the Law

The second incident Colson detailed involves a theft of roofing materials from his home that took place in late April. Colson wasn’t aware of the theft right away, but reported it as soon as it was brought to his attention, he said.

In the second case, there was an eyewitness who was able to get a tag number and vehicle description. That witness, Colson said, hasn’t talked to police yet. Attempts to reach him have only occurred in recent days, he added.

The vehicle in question in that case has been tracked down and deputies did speak with the owner, Doll said. She denied any knowledge of the crime, he added. So did her boyfriend.

“We checked his (the boyfriend's) scraping history and found that a few days after the theft he scraped 18 pounds of metal. (It should be noted that the amount of metal stolen would much heavier),” Doll wrote in an email to Patch. “The pictures at the scrap yard also show a white pickup truck, but they were not useful in identifying the property.”

Doll said the sheriff's office has tried to contact the witness, but has been unsuccessful so far.

“Detective Gibellino has made numerous attempts to contact the witness by phone and has left a business card on this door,” Doll wrote. “At this time he has not responded.”

This case is still pending.

The 3rd Incident

The third case involves an illegal dumping incident that took place in August. It wasn’t responded to for 18 days, Colson said. He witnessed the aftermath of the crime and reported it to the sheriff’s office. He said he had to call the sheriff’s office four times, speaking with multiple people, before the case was forwarded to a detective.

The case was being looked at by a detective, Colson said, but he's frustrated it took 18 days for any action to occur.

“The problem with the sheriff’s office is they can’t follow directions,” Colson said. “The witness (in the second case) works at night. (We) gave them the cell phone number. They’ve never called him.”

Colson said he’s frustrated and doesn’t feel like the sheriff’s office is paying attention to the small issues that residents face.

“They don’t care,” he said. “They’re only petty thefts.”

To date, Colson said he has never heard back from Nocco in regard to his email or a subsequent follow up dated Oct. 17 in reference to the second theft.

Don't be surprised when you pay one star taxes but expect five star service. But seriously you cannot make a case on a battery which you claim is yours at a scrap yard.

What kind of an idiot lets themselves be a victim of the same crime three times... Priceless. Yeah let blame the cops, only in Pasco can you be such a tool and try to blame others

Apparently this person doesn't realize that suspects have constitutional rights as well. You can't just arrest someone you think is connected to a crime without probable cause. This is not the Sheriff Office's fault. If you don't agree with the amendments do something about it and stop whining.

I think part of the problem is people watch too much TV and figure that is how it is in the real world. This guy probably thinks it's like CSI every time someone calls the sheriff's office. He expects an entire team of forensics investigators and a legion of detectives investigating every crime and they should have it solved with the bad guy arrested within one hour(about 43 minutes minus commercials lol). It would be nice if that was really how things worked but that's not the reality of the every day job that we do. Maybe if this guy actually did some research and learned how things really work he would see how grossly understaffed we are compared to other agencies in the area. The men and women of the PSO do an amazing job protecting the citizens of Pasco County and should be commended for it, not put under the microscope for being unable to immediately solve every single crime that occurs. Stay safe out there everyone.

[D3Deputy]

He is Sig20, and if you saw the residence, you'd think it's been abandoned for decades.... Any passer-by would think, "oh, free scrap metal".... Yet the paper treats him like he has a legitimate complaint. So dumb.

Really.... Those are my batteries..... I know them. They come when I call their name..... The detective called the mystery witness multiple times and bent over backwards for that idiot. I think code enforcement should pay a visit to his house. He would be singing a different tune. His neighbors would be grateful as well. "The problem with the Sheriff's Office is that they don't follow directions." Let him say that to my face and see where that goes.

There is no cure (or treatment) for STUPID! Unfortunately, even if you ignore him, he won't go away. :cry:

Nocco still hasn't replied to this citizens email. You doughnut eaters are calling him sig20 and yet he pays your salary. This joke of a Sheriff and worthless Major need to be ran out of town. The man said he waited 18 days for a response on an Illegal dumping..(way to go useless AG Unit). I support this guy 100%. You sorry Deputys need to quit whinning about your paychecks and get your sorry butts to work!

Nocco still hasn't replied to this citizens email. You doughnut eaters are calling him sig20 and yet he pays your salary. This joke of a Sheriff and worthless Major need to be ran out of town. The man said he waited 18 days for a response on an Illegal dumping..(way to go useless AG Unit). I support this guy 100%. You sorry Deputys need to quit whinning about your paychecks and get your sorry butts to work!

YES YOUR RIGHT! He does pay their salary. Did you know that depuites don't pay taxes. The county said it wouldn't be fair because they would be paying thier own salary. I mean who would want to pay to work!