New Colonel

And the rumor has it that there is no one within HCSO that can handle the job of training major and thus Sheriff Gee will bring in another ex-FBI agent.

Col Previtera is NOT and NEVER HAS BEEN an "FBI Agent"!!!

Whew! Glad to have that off my chest. It is a real irritation to me, having been a Secret Service Agent for twenty years, when I hear or see someone (who has just now heard or read that a person was a Secret Service Agent) refer to that person as an FBI Agent.

Not to disparage FBI agents, but there is a distinct difference in agencies and their agents.

The distinction may be appreciated by those who know the difference between Deputy Sheriffs and Police Officers. It's not necessarily that one is better than the other, just that they are different and derive their authority from different sources.

Here is a quick primer: The FBI is a part of the Department of Justice and is a very large organization. The Secret Service (formerly a part of the Department of the Treasury) is now a part of the Department of Homeland Security and is relatively small as federal law enforcement agencies go. (And we like to think - Elite.) :mrgreen:

I know Col. Previtera and hold him in high regard. I think that most folks will be pleased with his leadership. In any organization there will be those who will be unhappy with his decisions and/or his style; but that is always the case.

By the way: my service with HCSO extends back to the Sheriff Blackburn days. Chief Dixon (over the Jail at the time) had no corrections background. Certainly Jim Sasser (Head Jailer) didn't. Don't recall regarding Al Perotti (after Dixon) who replaced him - but I don't think so. Col Parrish didn't, but established an outstanding national reputation. People are often selected for positions at the top levels based on their transferrable management and supervisory skills, perhaps developed in other disciplines. Previteria has shown this kind of talent.

Sheriff - Good selection.
Jim - Best wishes; I know you will do well.

By the way: my service with HCSO extends back to the Sheriff Blackburn days


Really, I didn't know that. NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!

We've only heard this for the past 4 years from you.

I know Major Previtera well enough that he wouldn't release a video or flee from controversy. He would stand and defend his troops if they acted properly

First off, He would release the video because he is required to. It is public record. Second, Privitara hasn't been around here long enough for anyone to really know him or pretend to know what he would or wouldn't do. He had the chance to stand up for a deputy that was wronged by another supervisor by all accounts and chose not to.

Carl, relax, sit down and take it easy. Never meant that Jim was one. But after Jim came an ex-FBI agent who was brought in as a department head. We now need another department head and David once again will be going to the FBI ranks.

I guess I was too subtle.

The tirade about being confused with the FBI was tongue in cheek. (That means it was a joke.)

Hummmm. Maybe the Sheriff will look around for another former USSS Agent. (Not me!!! I'm perfectly content flying with the Aviation Unit - and an occasional late evening with one of the STAR units.)

:wink:

Carl, you always seem to express your true opinion about the upper brass and the TRUTH is a good thing to hear. Curious, what is your opinion on the current Chief at HCSO ? It seems that he is quite unpopular and just wondering your take on it. Thanks.

I would ASSUME that if the video was VIEWED, before it was given out, that the captured incident would have been placed under INVESTIGATION, therefore EXEMPTING it from disclosure under FSS 119.

I knew Jim when he was at PCSO, and with the S.S. He was a good guy and down to earth. Wish him the best.

By the way: my service with HCSO extends back to the Sheriff Blackburn days

Really, I didn't know that. NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!

We've only heard this for the past 4 years from you.

On the other hand, not all the folks reading the board have been here for the last four years.
What's your problem, slick?

[Carl Shawver]

And the rumor has it that there is no one within HCSO that can handle the job of training major and thus Sheriff Gee will bring in another ex-FBI agent.

Col Previtera is NOT and NEVER HAS BEEN an "FBI Agent"!!!

Whew! Glad to have that off my chest. It is a real irritation to me, having been a Secret Service Agent for twenty years, when I hear or see someone (who has just now heard or read that a person was a Secret Service Agent) refer to that person as an FBI Agent.

Not to disparage FBI agents, but there is a distinct difference in agencies and their agents.

The distinction may be appreciated by those who know the difference between Deputy Sheriffs and Police Officers. It's not necessarily that one is better than the other, just that they are different and derive their authority from different sources.

Here is a quick primer: The FBI is a part of the Department of Justice and is a very large organization. The Secret Service (formerly a part of the Department of the Treasury) is now a part of the Department of Homeland Security and is relatively small as federal law enforcement agencies go. (And we like to think - Elite.) :mrgreen:

I know Col. Previtera and hold him in high regard. I think that most folks will be pleased with his leadership. In any organization there will be those who will be unhappy with his decisions and/or his style; but that is always the case.

By the way: my service with HCSO extends back to the Sheriff Blackburn days. Chief Dixon (over the Jail at the time) had no corrections background. Certainly Jim Sasser (Head Jailer) didn't. Don't recall regarding Al Perotti (after Dixon) who replaced him - but I don't think so. Col Parrish didn't, but established an outstanding national reputation. People are often selected for positions at the top levels based on their transferrable management and supervisory skills, perhaps developed in other disciplines. Previteria has shown this kind of talent.

Sheriff - Good selection.
Jim - Best wishes; I know you will do well.

By the way: my service with HCSO extends back to the Sheriff Blackburn days


Really, I didn't know that. NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!

We've only heard this for the past 4 years from you.

Actually, I've been telling folks that ever since I returned to HCSO full time in 1990. That's a lot more than just the past four years.

The reason the information was germane in the context of my message was that it gave authenticity to my post since I was here and knew the people I named. There are few others who can say that.

You seem to be irritated by very small matters. Why is that? :wink:

[Carl Shawver]

Carl, you always seem to express your true opinion about the upper brass and the TRUTH is a good thing to hear. Curious, what is your opinion on the current Chief at HCSO ? It seems that he is quite unpopular and just wondering your take on it. Thanks.

A prudent person might not respond at all to such a query on a public board, but I've decided to do so, touching on only one aspect of what could have been a very long response. (I am not noted for my brevity.)

First, I don't know the Chief well, have never worked with him or directly for him. I've never seen him socially, but see him occasionally in various HCSO venues. In general his official actions to not affect me except with regard to decisions regarding operations at the Aviation Unit.

Having said this, I will express an opinion regarding one issue which everyone seems to attribute to the Chief; great emphasis on physical training.

Like many deputies, I gained a significant amount of weight during my assignments in patrol. I attribute it to the pressure of work compelling the use of fast food places, which is another way of saying eating a lot of high carbohydrate junk food. I found it very difficult to control this, even when I brought my own food from home in a cooler. I was also never particularly athletic; my longest runs at the height of my Secret Service career were only five miles.

All excuses aside, being overweight and out of condition can lead to your death on this job. I was finally successful in losing the weight when I faced up to the fact that it was my personal responsibility and excuses were not acceptable. Among other things I began taking Karate lessons and working out daily.

I find myself in sympathy with the Chief, or whoever it is who is urging a higher level of physical conditioning for all deputies.

Check out the line of duty death names at the SOC some time. I worked in the jail with Sgt. Jimmy Strachinsky - who died as the result of suffering a heart attack while struggling with an inmate. I worked on the street with Sgt. Don Williams - who died as the result of a heart attack while under gunfire during a riot in Tampa. There were other co-workers who died of heart attacks while off duty so they were not considered line of duty deaths - but if they had been in better physical condition the heart attacks might not have occurred.

And what is one of the best ways to protect yourself from a heart attack? Exercise!!! Strenuous exercise such as long distance running, or even long distance walking, has been shown to significantly strengthen the heart, which is after all simply a muscle. Exercise builds muscle strength.

And a strong heart promotes physical endurance - which serves you well in a physical altercation with a criminal. Sometimes the winner of a struggle is simply the person who endures longest.

Now to the point. I've seen many posts which attribute malevolent motives to the Chief for his emphasis on physical conditioning. Such assumptions are meretricious at best and malicious at worst.

The older folks among us probably remember the movie The Sands of Iwo Jima in which John Wayne, as USMC Sgt. Stryker was training marines for combat prior to the invasion of Iwo Jima. He emphasized physical conditioning and combat techniques. He was not liked by his men. But he knew that their failure to properly prepare for the impending combat would probably lead to their deaths. The value of his training was only appreciated later - by the combat hardened troops who survived.

I suggest that rather than attribute bad motives to the Chief for his emphasis on physical conditioning, since no one can truly know the motives of another person, that consideration be given to the possibility that he simply wants to do whatever he can within his sphere of influence to assure your survival through a law enforcement career and beyond.

If you occupied his position would you be content with the present level of physical conditioning of the deputies? I wouldn't. If you weren't, what would you do to promote improvement? Carrot or stick? Incentives (such as physical standards for the Master Deputy and Master Detective programs) or disciplinary action for failure to achieve certain standards?

What would you do? .................................................. ...

Carl, you always seem to express your true opinion about the upper brass and the TRUTH is a good thing to hear. Curious, what is your opinion on the current Chief at HCSO ? It seems that he is quite unpopular and just wondering your take on it. Thanks.

A prudent person might not respond at all to such a query on a public board, but I've decided to do so, touching on only one aspect of what could have been a very long response. (I am not noted for my brevity.)

First, I don't know the Chief well, have never worked with him or directly for him. I've never seen him socially, but see him occasionally in various HCSO venues. In general his official actions to not affect me except with regard to decisions regarding operations at the Aviation Unit.

Having said this, I will express an opinion regarding one issue which everyone seems to attribute to the Chief; great emphasis on physical training.

Like many deputies, I gained a significant amount of weight during my assignments in patrol. I attribute it to the pressure of work compelling the use of fast food places, which is another way of saying eating a lot of high carbohydrate junk food. I found it very difficult to control this, even when I brought my own food from home in a cooler. I was also never particularly athletic; my longest runs at the height of my Secret Service career were only five miles.

All excuses aside, being overweight and out of condition can lead to your death on this job. I was finally successful in losing the weight when I faced up to the fact that it was my personal responsibility and excuses were not acceptable. Among other things I began taking Karate lessons and working out daily.

I find myself in sympathy with the Chief, or whoever it is who is urging a higher level of physical conditioning for all deputies.

Check out the line of duty death names at the SOC some time. I worked in the jail with Sgt. Jimmy Strachinsky - who died as the result of suffering a heart attack while struggling with an inmate. I worked on the street with Sgt. Don Williams - who died as the result of a heart attack while under gunfire during a riot in Tampa. There were other co-workers who died of heart attacks while off duty so they were not considered line of duty deaths - but if they had been in better physical condition the heart attacks might not have occurred.

And what is one of the best ways to protect yourself from a heart attack? Exercise!!! Strenuous exercise such as long distance running, or even long distance walking, has been shown to significantly strengthen the heart, which is after all simply a muscle. Exercise builds muscle strength.

And a strong heart promotes physical endurance - which serves you well in a physical altercation with a criminal. Sometimes the winner of a struggle is simply the person who endures longest.

Now to the point. I've seen many posts which attribute malevolent motives to the Chief for his emphasis on physical conditioning. Such assumptions are meretricious at best and malicious at worst.

The older folks among us probably remember the movie The Sands of Iwo Jima in which John Wayne, as USMC Sgt. Stryker was training marines for combat prior to the invasion of Iwo Jima. He emphasized physical conditioning and combat techniques. He was not liked by his men. But he knew that their failure to properly prepare for the impending combat would probably lead to their deaths. The value of his training was only appreciated later - by the combat hardened troops who survived.

I suggest that rather than attribute bad motives to the Chief for his emphasis on physical conditioning, since no one can truly know the motives of another person, that consideration be given to the possibility that he simply wants to do whatever he can within his sphere of influence to assure your survival through a law enforcement career and beyond.

If you occupied his position would you be content with the present level of physical conditioning of the deputies? I wouldn't. If you weren't, what would you do to promote improvement? Carrot or stick? Incentives (such as physical standards for the Master Deputy and Master Detective programs) or disciplinary action for failure to achieve certain standards?

What would you do? .................................................. ...

It is no wonder that you, like so many others, have never spoken or even seen the Chief. From what I have observed, the majority do not have a problem with increasing the physical conditioning standards at HCSO. The problem is, like it has been time and time again the last few years, this was literally thrown into peoples faces without any notice or explanation on how it was going to be handled. many detectives were told that if they did not immediately pass the test, they would lose their current assignment and be sent back to the road, yet you can be promoted to any supervisory rank and not be required to pass the test. You also have many hard working vets who were told that their years of service and hard work meant nothing if they did not pass the test, that the only thing being considered for them to make master deputy or master detective, was the fitness test. When these same deputies and detectives tried to get clarification, they were told that the Chief is the only one handling the decisions, NOT THE SHERIFF, and that NOBODY was able to get any definitive answers from the Chief on a array of questions. This was supposedly due to the fact that the Chief, as we have all heard a million times, is not a approachable person and rarely if ever communicates with his troops. The fitness test is only one of many many things that have occurred over the past few years, where the lack of communication at HCSO is staggering. If you want to be a good leader, you need to know the pulse of your troops and open your eyes every once in awhile and remember where you came from. No one person, especially one with little people skills, should put it upon themselves to make every little decision about who does what and who goes where. How do you make these decisions when you have never even spoken to some of the deputies whose fate at the office you hold. What good is it to have many other district and division commanders, when these commanders have no authority to make change in their areas. Get the clue Carl, this involves so much more then just the current fitness test. Take care and be safe.

Please, the chief could careless what this means to the troops or for that matter what your opinion is.