Candidates offer views on SROs, take-home cars
Editor’s Note: Each week, The Breeze will ask candidates for city council their views on an issue of interest to the voters. Each candidate is asked the same question in a phone interview. This week’s question is:
What is your position on the public safety budget as it pertains to the police department, specifically, would you vote to eliminate or retain school resource officers and would you vote to continue the take-home car policy for police officers?
District 6
Kevin McGrail, a 53-year-old medical technologist and a candidate for the District 6 seat, said he would vote to retain school resource officers and the take-home police car policy because he believes both play a vital role in public safety
“SROs are absolutely critical to preventing gangs from getting a toe-hold in Cape Coral,” he said. “Most of the huge problems start in middle or high school.”
McGrail said having a school resource office that students can trust and confide in helps the officer prevent problems before they get started.
McGrail used the 1996 murder of a Riverdale High School teacher by a group of students calling themselves the Lords of Chaos as an example of a tragedy that might have been averted had a school resource officer been available.
“If they had an SRO, then some kids might have overheard what was being planned and tipped off the police to what was going on,” he said.
On the issue of take-home vehicles for city police officers, McGrail said there is no downside.
“It’s almost a wash as far as the cost to the city because of the free hours we get from off-duty police officers,” he said. “When a call goes out for an APB or they are trying to set up a perimeter or an officer needs assistance, they respond off-the-clock in their free time, time that is basically donated to public safety.”
McGrail said officers who take home police vehicles must agree to specific requirements.
“They can’t take their families in the car, they must have their radios on and the must carry a weapon,” he said.
Additionally, he said, around-the- clock use of police vehicles shortens their life span significantly and the time required for transition of a vehicle between officers while on the clock costs the city productivity, time and money.
Also seeking the District 6 seat is 69-year-old retired police detective John Cataldi, Jr., who used another school tragedy to emphasize the importance of having a police officer on-site at a school.
“If you look back at Columbine, a lot of the injuries and deaths could have been prevented if there had been an SRO on duty at the time who would have engaged the shooters,” he said, “Police offers are trained to do some things teachers are not.”
School resource officers are an invaluable tool for children and the schools they attend, he added.
“They need someone who can relate to young people and help with preventing bullying and gang recruitment,” he said.
Cataldi said federal staffing requirements 1.5 police officers for every thousand people in the community.
“And really, schools are really just small communities,” he said.
Cataldi said the money spent on the take-home cars for police officers would be better spent on salary or benefit increases for officers.
District 6 candidate, 67-year-old Frank Antos, Jr., a retired publisher, said the SROs are important to the schools by preventing crime and gang activity and should be retained.
“Especially,” he said. “Since the majority of the cost is subsidized through grants from the state and the county.”
Regarding the take-home vehicle issue, Antos said there are three specific reasons why the program should be continued.
“One, the cost of building a huge parking lot to park all the vehicles would be astronomical. Then it would take a half-hour for each officer to check out a vehicle. Two, as they check out different automobiles they will treat them rough. If it is assigned to them personally and they are responsible for the maintenance a take-home car, they will take better care of it,” he said. “It also generates a large deterrent to crime because the police cars are visible as people drive up and down the street and through the neighborhood.”
District 4
Dolores Bertolini, who is looking to retain her District 4 seat, agrees that the school resource officers are a valuable asset.
“I’ve always approved of the SROs, I think they have a definite role in helping schools keep on a straight path, she said,
However, Bertolini said she would have to see the final budget before taking an official stand on retention.
She takes a similar stand on the take-home vehicle policy that she said needs to be reviewed for efficiency and final impact on the city’s budget.
Chris Chulakes-Leetz, a 53-year-old USCG-licensed captain, also is seeking the District 4 position. He said the SRO program should not be halted.
“The program should be continued because safety and providing for the future of society and our children is the primary responsibility of public safety,” he said.
But Chulakes-Leetz, said he would like more information on the take-home vehicle policy.
“I would like to see the issue visited in the future with the potential to guide us toward cost savings while providing the high level of police protection for the citizens of Cape Coral,” he said.
District 1
Jim Martin and Marty McClain are each seeking the District 1 seat. Martin, a 77-year-old a retired aerospace engineer, said it is absolutely necessary to keep the SROs.
“I received information Monday night at workshop that it is mandatory to keep resource officers at the schools,” he said.
But he doesn’t want to continue the city’s vehicle policy, except in certain situations.
“I would not have take-home cars except for supervisors and crime scene investigators,” he said.
McClain, a 51-year-old construction consultant, said he would vote to keep officers in the schools.
“They are instrumental in finding out things behind the scenes and deterring problems,” he said.
Deterrence is also the reason officers should be allowed to take home police vehicles.
“We went through this in Indianapolis where I’ve seen people not run lights or stop signs even though officers were off duty,” he said, “This is done for a particular purpose. Take-home vehicles deter crime and allow for a quicker response.”
Mayor’s race
Mayoral candidate Stephen Lovejoy is 51 and runs a document management company. He said he needs more information before making a decision on the SROs.
“I want to see what our schools have to say and if they think they are necessary we should leave them there if it’s justifiable,” he said.
Lovejoy also said the city should definitely reconsider the take-home car policy because it could save the city money on insurance, maintenance and other costs because the city would need fewer vehicles in service.
Retired police officer and former mayor Roger Butler, 74, said the SROs provide not only protection, but also someone that children can go to if they have a problem, so the program should not be discontinued.
However, he said city needs to reassess the pros and cons of the take-home police car policy.
“Back when we started this program I though it was just for supervisors because we didn’t have a large number of cops. You also had to be on the force for a year and half,” he said. “We should really take another look at this now, we should go over the numbers and see how many cars they need. It might be that we are saving money by having the officers do the maintenance on the cars themselves,” he said “We need to look at this again and go over it with the chief and get his input.”
Candidate John Sullivan, a 66-year-old retired broker/IT consultant, said he is very clear when it comes to the future of the school resource officer program.
“I want the SROs to stay in there, he said.
He also said he has no issue with the take-home policy unless it starts to impact other, more essential, parts of the budget.
“If we have to make cuts, we need to look at just how important this really is,” he said.
Also seeking the mayor’s seat is Robert Pizzolongo, a 46-year-old Comcast employee who said the SROs provide an important service and should remain in schools.
“They really take care of our children: he said.
The take-home vehicle program is also worthwhile, he said, as long as it is not abused.
“There is good and bad. Sometimes it’s abused, I think, but I like living in a neighborhood where there’s a car in the driveway,” he said. “It does deter crime.”
Incumbent Jim Burch, a 58-year-old land surveyor, said he has been very public in his support for the SROs, particularly in situations where middle school-aged children are thrown into the mix with high school teenagers.
That factor and the funding from the school district make the program worthwhile.
“The stability that they (the SROs) provide is very important in our schools,” he said. “Especially now; we live in a different world.”
Burch said he also is in favor of continuing the city’s vehicle policy, for now.
“In my mind, having a police car in the driveway does tend to deter crime,” he said. “But if continuing it would have an impact on providing an essential service, I would be in favor of dropping it.”