eyelash growth

It is clear from the recent editorial concerning a pursuit along A1A that ended in Jensen Beach that your editorial board has neither all of the facts of the case nor have you read the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office’s policy regarding vehicle pursuits.

The facts: the deputy, a seasoned veteran who is anything but a cowboy, determined that the vehicle and its occupants were suspects in a burglary (a serious felony) which had just occurred at Walton Rocks Beach. the suspects attempted to elude the deputy by turning into Nettles Island, to no avail. the suspects turned back onto A1A heading southbound, and our deputy continued to follow the suspects at a normal rate of speed. he did not activate his emergency lights and siren until after the suspects increased their speed and began passing other motorists in the center lane. this happened a very short distance from the Martin County line and as the short chase ensued over the Jensen Beach Causeway bridge, it was called off by the shift supervisor. Nevertheless, the deputy needed to continue eastbound on the bridge in order to safely exit, and it was at that point that the fleeing suspects drove their car off the road into an open field, disabling it and allowing both St. Lucie and Martin County deputies to apprehend them.

I pose this question – what would you propose the deputy do at this point? Simply ignore a flagrant violation of the law and permit suspected burglars to just drive off into the sunset? What kind of message does that send to these criminals – it’s ok to commit a crime and then ignore the lawful orders of a law enforcement officer? What kind of message does that send to our children? as Sheriff I was elected to uphold law and order in our community and the people of St. Lucie County not only want me to catch the “bad guys” before they get away, they expect me to.

A review of our ten-page policy shows that while each deputy on scene is given discretion to determine whether to engage and terminate a pursuit, he or she does so only within clearly delineated guidelines, criteria and with a supervisor’s active involvement. Our policy has been praised by numerous other law enforcement agencies for the discretion given to our law enforcement officers allowing us to do our job of apprehending those who threaten the safety and well-being of our citizens, and I will be happy to provide anyone who desires a copy of our policy.

In fact, just this past weekend we had an incident which showed the wisdom and flexibility of our policy. After attempting to pull over a vehicle driving without a tag, the supervising sergeant called off the pursuit for safety reasons after the offender began traveling north on US 1 in excess of 90 m.p.h. passing other vehicles using the shoulder of the road.

In short, it’s quite easy to be an “armchair sheriff.” Anyone with an opinion can sit back and criticize the actions of my office and our deputies without either a full and complete understanding of the facts or an appreciation of the public’s expectations that we use our best judgment to balance the safety of innocent bystanders with the need to stop criminals in their tracks before they victimize more innocent citizens. I am charged with the responsibility to fight crime and protect the people of St. Lucie County – it is one I am privileged to have and never take lightly. it is also one which requires me to send a clear message to the crooks that prey upon our community – you are not welcome here and we will catch you before you harm someone else.

Mascara is sheriff of St. Lucie County

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Sheriff Ken Mascara: St. Lucie’s pursuit policy works for safety; sends message to criminals