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The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) enjoys strong support from the community – and since we know you can’t support what you don’t understand, we love sharing lots of information about our agency and its members. As you probably know from reading Inside the Star, we are a huge, diverse agency that does a lot more than most people realize. All year we’ve given you information and stories, both serious and fun, to help you stay safe from hurricanes, scammers, and criminals. But the best way to really understand what PCSO does is by hearing from our members. You can hear some of the best stories PCSO has to offer on our popular 56: A Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Podcast.
On 56, three curious and well-informed civilians – Communications and Public Education Manager Ricky Butler, Social Media Communications Specialist Ashley Cooley, and yours truly – chat with some of the most fascinating people at the agency.
Thank you for tuning in over the last year! If you have any comments about the podcast, or ideas for future episodes, let us know at Lets56@pcsonet.com. If you haven’t been listening to 56 all year, here is what you missed:
#19 Deputy Chuck Skipper
“The World’s Most Uninteresting Man”
If you follow us on social media, you definitely know Deputy Chuck Skipper. As part of the Crime Prevention and Community Awareness Unit he has played a pirate, a crook, a horror movie villain, a very enthusiastic cow, and has even been buried in the sand in his uniform, all to teach you how to keep yourself and your money safe. He talks about some of the notorious serial killers he’s met, and about the tragic and usually preventable crashes he worked as part of the Major Accident Investigation Team. If you want to protect yourself from becoming the victim of a scam, listen to the advice Deputy Skipper gives in this episode.
#18 April Bonnemann
“X3 the Channel”
It’s a fast and furious world in the Communications Center for Assistant Shift Supervisor April Bonnemann. Dispatchers need to juggle multiple calls, keeping track of the whereabouts and activities of all the deputies in their area. She might not be on scene, but she still gets all the stories, from the man who caught an alligator in the bedroom with his wife to the hopeful Romeo who stole a semi-truck to pick up his lady friend when she was released from jail. For a dispatcher, there’s never a break – she once managed three separate overlapping stolen vehicles at once – and now as a supervisor she’s responsible for all the activity in the comm center. Tune in and learn exactly what happens after you call 911.
#17 Sergeant Jake Viano
“The Closer”
Sergeant Jake Viano was raised in Long Beach during the height of gang violence and grew up to be the hero who saved Corporal Matt Aitken’s life when he was ambushed and shot during a K-9 track. As if that isn’t enough, he had a professional baseball career in between. He was drafted by the Rockies for his killer curveball and changeup, and played locally for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but eventually his childhood dream of law enforcement lured him to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Hear stories from his time in Narcotics, on the SWAT Team, and as a K-9 handler, including the tale of how a potato became the key piece of evidence in a conspiracy to commit murder. Whether in the ballpark or on patrol, Jake is the one you call for the win.
#16 Corporal Matt Aitken
“It’s Okay to be Broken”
You don’t have to do much to become one of the best-known people at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office – just get shot three times (once in the neck), and fight through surgery, physical therapy, fears of painkiller addiction, and the monsters in your own mind to emerge stronger than ever as a powerful example of how to not only survive but thrive through adversity. But no one is defined by a single day. Matt is a drummer who wanted to go pro before answering the siren call of law enforcement. He’s a former K-9 handler who is now putting his tactical mind to work in our Training Division. He’s a family man whose strong bond with his daughter reminds him there is light in the darkest days. Above all, he’s a man who worked hard to learn how to navigate what the world threw at him.
#15 Tactical Paramedic Supervisor Joey Greco
“Do No Harm… Do Know Harm”
Tactical Paramedic Supervisor Joey Greco carries guns AND tourniquets. He’s one of the TacMeds who train with SWAT and accompany them on callouts, positioned in the hot zone. Although he’s not on the entry team, he’s trained to respond under fire if one of the SWAT operators is harmed. Hear about his SWAT tryouts, going through the same obstacle course as the operators but then having to save a life while the operator candidates rested, and learn how he graduated from New Guy #2 to New Guy #1. We’re proud to say that Joey has gotten first place in the SWAT Roundup TacMed Challenge three years in a row. Since that’s an international competition, does that mean he’s the best tactical paramedic in the world? We like to think so.
#14 Deputy Jana Demperio
“Is the Chicken Armed?”
Deputy Jana Demperio could have been a professional stand-up comic, but instead she’s a deputy currently working the desk at our North District Station. She’s done Patrol, Street Crimes, Community Policing, and was a School Resource Officer, but thinks that working the desk is at least as challenging as any of those. The public thinks she can fix any problem, has a skewed perception about what constitutes a crime, and is perfectly willing to yell in her ear about it all. But Jana won Deputy of the Year for heroically taking out a wrong-way drunk driver with her own vehicle, crashing head-on to save the motorists behind her… and talked a suspect out of slitting his own throat… so of course she is going to go above and beyond to help anyone who calls. But really, ma’am, she can’t do anything about that chicken. Unless it’s carrying a gun.
#13 Lieutenant Dave Stang
“Vigorous Talking”
Then Lieutenant (now Captain) Dave Stang is a man so powerful he can lose eight pints of blood – the amount in an average human – and still be standing, a veritable Paul Bunyan who was running a chain saw in the timber business at age 11 and was hired as a firefighter before he even finished high school. His career began in St. Pete, cleaning up a drug-ravaged housing complex, and plucking guns from rioters’ hands. When he came to PCSO he spent years taking down some of the county’s most violent offenders. He’s been mistaken for the bodyguard to the head of a notorious biker gang and caught an escaped inmate charged with murder.
#12 Dr. Meredith Tise
“Buried Bodies, Scattered Skeletons”
Dr. Meredith Tise is a forensic anthropologist whose work has taken her from the border to body farms. She was involved in the excavation at the Dozier School for Boys, uncovering the remains of children and young men who suffered under terrible conditions and died at that notorious facility. She has also helped bring the remains of lost WWII service members home from Germany and a Pacific island. She’s our Forensic Quality Assurance Coordinator, making sure that our Forensics Division is held to the highest standards, and also our go-to expert for any unidentified bones found in the county. Hear about some of the most fascinating cases she’s worked here at PCSO and in her entire career.
#11 Sergeant Jimmy Fortner
“Beacon of Joy”
In this episode we talk with possibly the happiest man in the PCSO: Sergeant Jimmy Fortner. He began his career in a super max prison where stabbings, overdoses, hangings, and attacks on guards were commonplace. Now he works at the Pinellas County Jail, which despite the best resources and training can still be fraught with danger. On this episode you’ll hear about how the jail helps psych inmates and the elderly, how to maintain mental health when you work in the jail… and what severed body part he’s had hurled at his chest.
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