Officer and Employee of the Month December 2014

OFFICER JOHN KASPROWICZ

OFFICER OF THE MONTH

December 2014

In an attempt to prevent firearm violence during the summer months, Officer John Kasprowicz has directed his efforts to the recovery of firearms and the arrest of armed individuals.  Since January 2014, Officer Kasprowicz has recovered six (6) firearms through a combination of standard patrol techniques as well as interdiction efforts in high crime areas.

On March 13, 2014, Officer Kasprowicz conducted a traffic stop where the driver was armed with, not just one, but two handguns in his waistband.  Through safe and tactical patrol techniques, Officer Kasprowicz was able to recover both firearms (a .32 caliber revolver and a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun) and arrest the driver without incident.  The defendant in this case admitted to driving into the area of North Boulevard Homes with two handguns in order to "handle his business". This aggressive patrol style displayed by Officer Kasprowicz may have prevented more gun violence in the West Tampa area.

On June 10, 2014, Officer Kasprowicz and his partner Officer McCormick, conducted a traffic stop and subsequently arrested the driver for felony narcotics charges.  The driver was discovered to be armed with a .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun, which he had hidden under the driver’s seat.  The firearm was recovered and found to be loaded.  The driver was a convicted felon with a violent felony history of robbery and aggravated assault with a firearm.

The other firearms recovered have been a .38 caliber revolver, a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a .40 caliber handgun.

In recognition of his outstanding performance in the West Tampa neighborhoods he patrols, Officer John Kasprowicz has been selected as the Tampa Police Department's Officer of the Month for December 2014.

IDA WALKER

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH

December 2014

The Tampa Police Department desires to have public service personnel that healthily represent the community of which they serve.  This is not simply a statistical goal to keep pace with the city’s demography, it allows the opportunity to balance the mission of law enforcement with the ideals of the citizenry and their expectations of quality of life.  It builds community trust through the collective assimilation of individual cultures fused to law enforcement’s duties and responsibilities by hiring qualified public servants.

This is not an easy task for a myriad of reasons.  Law enforcement job descriptions are somewhat para-militaristic, which translates to having a desired applicant gifted with reasonable mental and physical abilities, combined with character traits like honesty, empathy, and total commitment to those served.  The jobs require shift, holiday and weekend work in most of the functionalities, which makes a career in 24/7 public service less desiring.  Also, there is a mystique about the job that may keep the thought of becoming a police officer or support/volunteer staff out of someone’s options list because they might see it from a fraternal perspective and feel they won’t fit in.

Strangely, some of our best ideas come from an out-of-the box approach to some, yet seem like a natural opportunity to others.  Ida Walker, a 32-year employee of the City of Tampa and the Executive Aide to the Chief of Police, nurtured a concept of doing recruitment outreach to our faith-based communities, especially those of African-American and Hispanic worshipers.

The timing and opportunity couldn’t have been more appropriate.  As the diversified population of the Tampa Bay area grows, so does the needs of the department to recruit those qualified applicants of diversity.  Ida’s outreach idea was developed into a full project plan of locations, points of contacts, and scheduling of key personnel that could deliver a standardized message of joining TPD to serve their community.  Communication materials were developed, meetings were held and the launch proved to be a great success.  In a relatively short time, 150 churches were asked to participate and over 400 people contacted the department with some level of interest in sworn, non-sworn, and volunteering roles within the agency.

Regardless of how many people end up employed with the City of Tampa, attend a citizen’s academy, or become a TPD Explorer, the most important thing is that Mrs. Walker developed and implemented a concept into a reality of outreach that proved to be an atypical platform to perspective candidates to assist in our public safety mission.  She did this while having a challenging daily schedule, but knowing in her heart it was a ripened field of opportunity.

In recognition of her dedication to the department and the community, Ida Walker has been selected as the Employee of the Month for December 2014.