Law Enforcement

Choking is the fourth leading cause of accidental death with one child is lost to choking every five days and a total of 5000 people a year. But there is a device that has the potential to help lessen those chances — the LifeVac — and now Collier County Sheriff Office units will all have one of the life-savers. Collier Sheriff Kevin Rambosk displayed the LifeVac at a special media briefing Thursday at the Professional Development Center in Collier County and said the Sheriff's Office is adding 500 LifeVac choking rescue devices, enough to equip every CCSO patrol vehicle.The donation was made possible by The Cassata Foundation and LifeVac inventor and CEO Arthur Lih. Foundation trustees Rosario S. Cassata and his wife Carolyn Cassata are Collier County residents. Lih lives in Southwest Florida as well.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will break ground Thursday on a new Fort Myers Regional Operations Center to be built on a site in South Lee County.A noon media briefing will announce construction of the new FMROC nearly three years after Hurricane Ian caused structural damage to the current FMROC building at Page Field.

The black and tan FHP Corvette cruiser has been named winner of the 2025 America’s Best Looking Cruiser Contest, a threepeat for the Sunshine State highway patrol.The FHP win in the American Association of State Troopers contest makes Florida the first state in contest history to win three consecutive years.

Former Hendry County Sheriff’s Office deputy Tyler Williams will serve nearly three years in federal prison for violating an individual’s civil rights and obstructing justice.The 30-year-old Williams was found guilty in February by a federal jury and was sentenced Tuesday by United States District Judge Sheri P. Chappell. Williams was also a former Fort Myers police officer fired for not reporting suspected child abuse. Williams was fired from the Hendry County force at the close of the investigation in 2023.

Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, FL, K9 Zoe has received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Zoe’s vest was sponsored by Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. and embroidered with the sentiment “In memory of K9 Copper, Charlotte County, EOW 8/13/23”.

A spate of inquiries to law enforcement has prompted one local agency to reach out to the community it protects to calm unwarranted concerns.A spokesman for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office issued an alert Wednesday morning about the topic."I am receiving a lot of inquiries about possible threats to our schools this morning. I thought it would be best to reach out to all of you at once to quell any rumors," Chris Hall, public relations officer at the Sheriff's Office, said.

A Collier County man missing for more than a week has been confirmed dead, the Collier County Sheriff's Office said Sunday.Posting on the agency's Facebook site, the Sheriff's Office said that a body tentatively identified as that of Eduardo Ramirez was located by members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission on Saturday a short distance south of the 97 Mile Marker in the Picayune Strand.

Seven people were hospitalized Sunday evening after a building containing a Naples pizzeria partially collapsed.Shortly before 7 p.m., Naples Police, Naples Fire-Rescue and Collier County EMS, responded to the Italian pizzeria and restaurant’s 878 5th Avenue South building.

The University Police Department is conducting an active assailant training exercise from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 25, in Biscayne Hall, part of FGCU’s South Village residential area. A simulator that portrays the sound of gunshots may be heard throughout the training.

A Florida appeals court has effectively opened a loophole in the state's long-standing law against recording telephone conversations without the permission of both sides of the call, ruling that law enforcement officers performing their official duties can be secretly recorded because they have no expectation of privacy.The court's decision — involving a citizen who accused the Citrus County Sheriff's Office of misconduct — is the latest to provide new mechanisms for civilian oversight of law enforcement, even as others were curtailed in recent days by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-led Legislature.