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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Fort Myers Police budget: Request up 3.9 percent or increase to $61.8 million
The Fort Myers Police Department budget for 2025-26 is proposed to grow by just under 3.9% next year, increasing from about $59.5 million to $61.8 million. The budget that Chief Jason Field submitted May 13 calls for equipment purchases totaling more than $2 million of the approximately $2.3 million increase. Interestingly the proposal calls for no new personnel. That could signal a starting point for discussion with City Council. At a recent meeting at least two council members expressed support for increased traffic enforcement. According to the request the current traffic unit is comprised of seven people. A sergeant, four traffic homicide investigators and only two traffic enforcement officers. Chief Fields said in May that virtually every one of his 263 sworn officers does traffic enforcement as necessary. The traffic unit is in charge of impaired driving enforcement, training for new officers, follow-up investigation of patrol-initiated cases, civil and criminal serious injury cases and traffic homicide investigations. More: Traffic talk: One of the most stressful Fort Myers intersections is getting a makeover The unit investigated 27 fatal crashes in 2024 and three so far in 2025. A traffic homicide investigation is as in depth as a homicide investigation and often more complex. 'The FDOT 2025 Highway Safety Matrix - Rank of Florida Cities (population over 75,000) Report based on total actual serious injuries and fatalities (2018-2022) has the City of Fort Myers ranked in the top 38 worst cities for serious injury and fatal crashes in six of nine categories tracked,' says the budget request. 'The City of Cape Coral is also listed in this report, and they are in 7 of the 9 categories. In 2024 our city investigated over 5,000 crashes. Lee County investigated over 7,000. From 2017 through 2022, the city averaged over 4,800 crash investigations a year. The City of Fort Myers has a resident population of approximately 104,100 people, which produces an approximately five percent crash to population ratio. The county has a resident population of approximately 858,937 and a crash to population ratio of about one percent. The number of traffic crashes occurring in the City of Fort Myers is significant. The agency must take significant measures in re-structuring the traffic unit to make an impact on crash reduction.' Department spokesperson Megan Fuentes said the budget request does not include new personnel, but the department will try to address needs by filling 29 empty sworn officer positions. Some of those new officers, she said, are currently in the academy or in field training. Following are excerpts from the proposed budget: This memorandum includes the budgetary request for the Police Department for Fiscal Year 2026. Fleet 26 New and Replacement vehicles for our fleet. These vehicles will replace current high mileage vehicles and vehicles that were in accidents and totaled. The additional vehicles will also ensure that we can continue to offer a take home vehicle for all eligible Officers. 2025 Ford Utility – (20 - Patrol) $1,240,380.00 2025 Ford Active SUV – (2 - Detective) $79,809.82 2025 Ford Ranger Truck – (1 - VIP) $40,793.00 2025 Ford F150 Truck – (1 – HOT Team) $50,251.00 2025 Ford Utility – (2 - Lieutenant) $117,702.00 Supply & Logistics Uniform Supplies and Accessories (CSA & Civilian) $25,000 Professional Standards Bureau Training Division Requested Equipment Funds for Academy Sponsorship – These funds would be used to provide sponsorship to the police academy for newly hired police officers. Based on the current 29 Police Officer vacancies. $20,000 Waterborne Dive Gear and Wet Duty Gear – Specialized gear will enable water-based training for water survival and waterborne defensive tactics. o $12,000 Department Awards Programs Department Awards and Annual Banquet – To cover the cost of annual banquet, awards and ribbons. $5,500 Investigative Services Bureau Detective Division Flash & External Hard Drives – More and more of our investigations involve high resolution cameras from places of business and residences. The storage provided for this is immense and then it must be stored in evidence for a prolonged period. We are requesting to increase the current budget to $20,000. Flash & External Hard Drives Cost $20,800 Crime Scene Unit Additional Crim-Lite Auto to assist in documenting evidence at the crime scene using a high[1]sensitivity UV/Vis/IR camera capable of capturing images beyond the visible spectrum. Currently it is difficult for us to reveal and capture specific evidence under UV and IR light with multiple filter camera attachment. This device is all in one with full spectrum of lights, filters all built into a handheld device with a large touchscreen to capture the evidence digitally. Because of our limited space this is the perfect compact device to further improve our evidence workflow and increase the efficiency of examinations. One Crime-Lite Auto (Foster & Freeman) – This is a full spectrum UV-Vis-IR digital camera with 55x Illumination Wavebands. It is an all-in-one, searching beyond the visible spectrum, detection, and capture tool all in an instant. The Crime-lite AUTO can quickly reveal evidence including body fluids (semen, saliva, and urine etc.); blood on dark fabrics; fingerprints; gunshot residues; and traces of physical evidence (glass, bone, fibers, hairs, etc.) Document evidence at the crime scene using a high-sensitivity UV/Vis/IR camera capable of capturing images beyond the visible spectrum. Currently it is difficult for us to reveal and capture specific evidence under UV and IR light with multiple filter camera attachment. This device is all in one with full spectrum of lights, filters all built into a handheld device with a large touchscreen to capture the evidence digitally. Because of our limited space this is the perfect compact device to further improve our evidence workflow and increase the efficiency of examinations. Cost $ 50,000 Special Operations Bureau Special Operations Division Traffic Unit Equipment: • Three (3) Stalker Q2095020 MC360 Message Trailer with Solar (4'x8') Package 821- 1102-00 MC360 Message Trailer (4'x8') with Strobes and Solaretc $23,581 each. Cost $70,743 4 Two (2) Signs, MPH Speed Wanco Compact WSDT3-S Radar Speed Sign Trailer, Battery Powered and Solar Charging, 26-inch LED Characters $11,989 each. Cost $23,978 Technical Operations Division The Technical Operations Center functions as advanced support for the Fort Myers Police Department as well as other law enforcement agencies across Southwest Florida. Members assigned to the Technical Operations Center provide both tactical and strategic intelligence for law enforcement investigations and operations. The Technical Operations Center is also responsible for developing, implementing, and managing the Department's Intelligence[1]Driven Policing Strategy The Technical Operations Center mainly provides intelligence and support through the Department's Real Time Crime Center (RTCC), Analytics and Innovation Team, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, Digital Forensics Unit, Technical Operations Support Team, and Unmanned Ariel Vehicle (UAV) Operations. See a breakdown of all budget item requests included at the end of this memorandum. The Technical Operations Center is currently staffed by a Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant, nine (9) sworn officers, five (5) crime analysts and one (1) system analyst. The primary focus of the unit is based around the Intelligence-Led Policing Program, Stratified Policing and supporting the Operations Bureau and Detective Bureau. The Bureau also assists several specialty units throughout the agency with advanced analytical analysis, criminal intelligence, digital forensics, and advanced electronic equipment operations. Additionally, the Technical Operations Center is responsible for the City-Wide Security Camera Program (CitiView), License Plate Reader (LPR) program, and Real Time Crime Center. The Technical Operations Center needs equipment, for the specialized areas in which it provides support for. This request is critical for the Bureau's success and its effectiveness in providing this support. Without the equipment, members of the Technical Operations Center will be limited in terms of the type and level of support they will be able to provide going forward. Budget related requests from the Technical Operations Center are highlighted below: Real Time Crime Center Equipment upgrade $ 50,000 Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) The focus of the FY2026 SWAT Team budget will be to significantly allocate funds to better equip and prepare the team for the high liability situations they are placed in. This specialized equipment is used to safeguard our citizens from life threatening situations and additionally aid in the protection of our operators while in these high-risk situations. Requested Equipment: One (1) Armored vehicle – The Federal Government has placed restrictions on the current armored vehicle obtained through the 1033 Program. The new restriction does not allow usage in High-Risk Search Warrant situations, which is a large portion of what the SWAT Team is used for. The armored vehicle provides protection from gun fire while the SWAT Team operates in these high-risk situations. Cost $400,000. Cape Coral has a population more than double that of Fort Myers at over 240,000. Its current police budget is $51.5 million. Naples has only a little over 21,000 people with a police budget of $20.6 million. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers Police want additional $2.3 million this year for equipment
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Former Lee Health employee arrested for stealing $150,000 worth of equipment to sell online
A former Lee Health employee faces charges after authorities say he stole $150,000 worth of equipment and sold it online. Ricardo Rodrigues, 56, of Lehigh Acres, faces two counts of grand theft and one count of trafficking stolen property. He was arrested Feb. 4 and released the following day on $55,000 bond. According to an arrest affidavit from Fort Myers Police, officers responded to Lee Memorial Hospital, 2776 Cleveland Ave., on Nov. 19 to reports of stolen items. The director of nursing told officers that 10 heart monitors and five monitor batteries were unaccounted for. The monitors had been in storage at Lee Memorial Hospital's intensive care unit. Hospital management told officers they already started an internal investigation after they discovered the monitors went missing in early November. The monitors were valued at $8,500. The batteries were valued at about $4,500, the report states. School staffer arrested: Island Coast High School paraprofessional accused of lewd contact with student While Phillips — the manufacturing company — tracked the serial numbers for the missing items, they noticed that one had been reassigned to a company in Laguna Miguel, California. Authorities discovered the purchasing company, SakoMed Biomedical Services, listed 10 such monitors in its inventory. A representative for SakoMed Biomedical Services told authorities they purchased the heart monitors "from an unknown person on eBay." Authorities tracked the payment to a PayPal account associated with Rodrigues. When police contacted management at Lee Memorial Hospital, they confirmed his employment as the lead plant operations technician at the hospital and added he had access "to all locations within the hospital." When authorities met with Rodrigues, he denied knowledge of the thefts and said he does not work with the medical equipment at the hospital. Rodrigues also said he does not have an online account that sells medical equipment, but confirmed he has an eBay account under the username "Clinicas," which he has had since 2022. According to the report, Rodrigues also mentioned he found three "batteries" on a broken hospital bed the week prior. Rodrigues also confessed to misplacing three monitors on a shelf. Hospital officials found the three monitors prior to his confession. According to the report, Rodrigues offered to let officers review the eBay account on his cellphone. The review yielded the discovery of a wearable patient monitor Rodrigues reportedly sold. When confronted, Rodrigues told officers he obtained it from his prior employer, Broward Health, and added that the device does not work. Rodrigues told officers he sold it for parts to SakoMed Biomedical Services, but said they returned it because it did not work. Among the items Rodrigues listed for sale or recently sold, the report says, were waterflow control modules, numerous pipe fittings, absorbent bed pads, water filters, and a feeding pump. When confronted about the pipe fittings, the report states, Rodrigues said he buys the pipe fittings at Home Depot to complete projects at his house and then sells the extra pieces. A search warrant issued to eBay revealed Rodrigues sold 49 items on an account under the pseudonym of "Clinicas," earning him a profit of $1,857.39. Authorities said Rodrigues still had 106 items listed for sale with potential earnings of nearly $4,600. A separate warrant submitted to PayPal revealed Rodrigues, under the username "RICHMEDEQUIP," sold four monitors and earned $8,160. In addition to the $8,160 sale to SakoMed Biomedical Services, PayPal records show an additional $29,175 worth of transactions between SakoMed Biomedical Services and Rodrigues between Sept. 30 and Dec. 4, 2024, Authorities said Rodrigues removed approximately $151,390 worth of equipment from Lee Memorial Hospital. Hospital management told authorities they have not had any other lost items since Rodrigues was placed on leave Dec. 10 before his Feb. 4 arrest. Jaclyn Bevis, spokesperson for Lee Health, the parent company of Lee Memorial Hospital, said Rodrigues "was placed on crisis leave at the onset of the investigation and is no longer employed at Lee Health." Rodrigues' arraignment is set March 10. Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@ or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Fort Myers Police: Lee Memorial staffer accused of grand theft
