56: A Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Podcast

Some forensic scientists train for years in the classroom, only to discover on their first real crime scene that they don’t have the stomach for the job. Not so for Forensic Science Supervisor Lisa Murphy. When she pulled up to her first dead body – a shotgun suicide – and said, “Wow, there’s a piece of skull!” she realized this was the perfect job for her. Since then she’s worked some of the grisliest crime scenes, labored for hours in houses full of decomp and no air conditioning, and never thrown up… although she’ll tell you about the times when she came close. Now she’s a blood pattern recognition expert who can reconstruct a homicide based on the blood evidence on the walls and floors. On this episode of 56, hear about the most disgusting, dangerous, and heart-wrenching cases she’s worked, and find out why she was the 2024 Forensic Science Specialist of the year. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

In this episode, we bring back one of our favorite guests – and we’re not just saying that because he’s our boss. On his last visit you got to learn the history and career path that made Sheriff Bob Gualtieri the sheriff he is today. Now we talk more about some of the issues that are near and dear to the hearts of Pinellas County residents, and issues that have far-reaching implications across our country. When Sheriff Gualtieri sees a problem, he fixes it. That’s why we have innovative, first of their kind programs like Safe Harbor, which diverts homeless people from jail to a safe shelter, or diversion programs to give young people or first-time minor offenders a second chance. He created the HOME Task Force to monitor the worst young offenders, and made a robust Threat Management Unit to identify problems at their earliest stage and nip them in the bud. You know that school safety is his top priority, and in addition to prevention, rapid response, and thorough investigation, he has added an innovative and much-needed component: family reunification. Find out why major crimes in Pinellas County are at historically low levels, how he’ll keep you safer during the next hurricane, and why he’s a hard man to categorize. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

For a guy who became a cop because of Super Troopers, Lieutenant Matt Thornton is doing pretty well in law enforcement. He started his career in the jail, where he was known as the “Inmate Whisperer” for his ability to calm inmates with psychological issues. When he went to Patrol, he realized that deputies are first and foremost members of the community, and that it’s hard for people to yell at you if you’re talking to them nicely. But don’t let that genial demeanor fool you – he’s worked in Narcotics and the Violent Crimes Task Force, putting some of the worst criminals in jail. He’s done a lot for the youth of Pinellas County too, both the good ones and the bad ones. Are there bad kids? Well, there are kids who commit five or more felonies in a year, and he developed groundbreaking ways to keep them from reoffending, and arresting them if they do. Now he’s in Youth Services, keeping our schools safe with SROs and inspiring the leaders of tomorrow with the Cadets. On this episode of 56, get to know the respected leader who encourages creativity in the people who work for him. (Oh, and as a special treat for co-host Laura, he likes snakes, bugs, and opossums, and has tons of stories about animal rescues and other furry and scaly adventures.) Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

Deputy Syeeta Robinson-DeBerg is the kind of person who will ride a bike down stairs without worrying about how she’s going to stop at the bottom. If it’s a new challenge, she wants to try it – and do better than anyone else. Syeeta says she’s always liked kids and drugs – not in a creepy way – and so a career in law enforcement was perfect for her, helping kids and getting drugs off the streets. Sure, as a rookie she couldn’t always tell when someone was dead, but now she has her finger on the pulse of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Her role in Staff Inspections is basically to tell the sheriff what’s going on in every nook and cranny of the agency so he can better support what’s working and fix anything that needs improvement. At one time or another all the cash, drugs, guns, jewels, and explosives in the agency pass through her hands, so you know she has some entertaining stories to tell. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

Snooki, Tigger… Corporal Justin Fineberg is a man of many names but a singular purpose: to get the bad guys so victims can sleep peacefully at night. His hometown of Boston almost got to keep him, but when color-blindness disqualified him up there, he succumbed to the lure of our snow-free winters and joined PCSO. Now he’s a member of the K-9 unit and along with his dog Beau (“because he’s handsome like his daddy”) he’s apprehending some of the worst offenders in the county. He’s also one of the unit’s trainers, and knows how to get inside the heads of some of the most intense dogs you’ve ever met. One of the hardest things for a new handler to learn is how to find their voice – their praise voice that is. When the dog does what he’s supposed to, a handler has to give him positive reinforcement by getting goofy and talking in a high-pitched funny way. Your tail might wag too if Corporal Fineberg praises you in his special voice. Tune in to this episode of 56 to go fishing with K-9s, explore the jungles of Pinellas, fall down a hole in the darkness, and find out how someone goes from being one of the boys to a true leader. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

Talk about rising through the ranks! Chief Deputy David Danzig is the number-two man at PCSO, second only to Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, and has done just about everything at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). Coming from a law enforcement family, he knew he wanted to be a cop practically since he was a baby. In fact, his reward for potty training was a ride in cruiser running lights and sirens. From his first arrest (charge: Cat Running at Large) to his first week as the new chief, he’s never had a bad day at work. Despite the many challenges of law enforcement, he has always loved his job, whether he was working in the Marine unit where he saved lives with the right combination of “skillset and guts” or leading the Violent Crimes Task Force that reduced homicides and gun crimes in the county. It’s a peculiarity of law enforcement that as you rise through the ranks, once you get comfortable somewhere they move you somewhere else. But Chief Danzig thrived wherever he went because of a collaborative leadership style and a willingness to learn. In this episode, we talk about Chief Danzig’s career, and why he thinks the resiliency, strength, knowledge, and training of today’s PCSO deputies makes them the greatest generation of law enforcement officers. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

In this episode we talk with Detective Jason Plumb, who has spent a lifetime saving lives, first as a paramedic, then as an officer in the insanely busy Rochester, New Hampshire PD. A chance meeting with some PCSO deputies made him think the grass might be greener down here. It certainly was – and not just because it wasn’t covered in snow half the year. He liked it so much he even brought five of his friends down from his former agency. How’s that for recruiting? Since joining us, he’s had his share of adventures, including being a lead car in one of the most famous pursuits our agency ever had. Now he works in the innovative Mass Casualty Planning Unit. Hear about the work he’s doing to make private schools safer and get our entire county ready to deal with an active shooter, natural disaster, large-scale accident, or any other mass casualty event. Plus find out if nips and bubblers means what you think it means. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

In this episode we talked with “the world's most uninteresting man,” Deputy Chuck Skipper with the Crime Prevention and Community Awareness Unit. If you’ve seen some of our creative safety videos, Chuck’s face is a familiar one and you know he’s anything but uninteresting. He has a passion for crime prevention and will do almost anything on camera for the sake of good messaging, but there’s so much more to Chuck than that. He shares his humble beginnings in the wings of the Marion County Jail where he encountered some of Florida’s most notorious serial killers and discusses the realities of working the road in a rural county – where backup is seemingly hours away when you’re in a fight surrounded by extremely dangerous poultry. You’ll learn about his PCSO experience investigating often gruesome crashes, traffic enforcement from the air, the latest scams ravaging vulnerable populations, and all things crime prevention...all on the latest episode of 56. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

In this episode we talk with Assistant Communications Center Shift Supervisor April Bonnemann, whose world moves at a mile a minute as she gives deputies the crucial information that keeps them safe in their dangerous job. She might not be on-scene, but she still gets all the stories, from the man who caught an alligator in the bedroom with his wife, to the hopeful Romeo who stole a semi-truck to pick his lady friend up when she was released from the jail. Just how do you stop a fleeing car hauler anyway? For a dispatcher, there’s never a break – she once managed three separate overlapping stolen vehicle calls at once – and now as a supervisor she’s not just responsible for one radio channel, but for all of the activity in the comm center. There’s a lot more going on than you might think when you place that 911 call! Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website Mental Health For Heroes

In this episode we talk with Sergeant Jake Viano, who was raised in Long Beach during the height of gang violence and grew up to become the hero who saved Corporal Matt Aitken’s life when he was ambushed and shot during a K-9 track. As if that isn’t enough, he had a professional baseball career in between. Hear about the life-and-death fashion choices a kid has to make when navigating between the Crips and the Bloods, and how to play baseball when the opposing team calls in gang members to threaten your life if you score again. He was drafted by the Rockies for his killer curveball and changeup, and played locally for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but eventually his childhood dream of law enforcement lured him to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Hear stories from his time in Narcotics, on the SWAT Team, and as a K-9 handler, including the tale of how a potato became the key piece of evidence in a conspiracy to commit murder. Whether in the ballpark or on patrol, Jake is the one you call for the win. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website Mental Health For Heroes

You don’t have to do much to become one of the best-known people at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office – just get shot three times (once in the neck), and fight through surgery, physical therapy, fears of painkiller addiction, and the monsters in your own mind to emerge stronger than ever as a powerful example of how to not only survive but thrive through adversity. Corporal Matt Aitken is best known for that harrowing incident of March 12, 2023, when a routine track turned deadly and he was saved by his K-9 partner Taco and Sergeant Jake Viano. But no one is defined by a single day. Matt is a drummer who wanted to go pro before answering the siren call of law enforcement. He’s a former K-9 handler who is now putting his tactical mind to work in our Training Division. He’s a family man whose strong bond with his daughter reminds him there is light in the darkest days. Above all, he’s a man who understands that it is okay to be broken, to admit that you don’t always know how to navigate what the world throws at you. Join us as we talk with someone who has learned how to use his pain, and now hopes to help others who battle PTSD, sadness, or loss. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website Mental Health For Heroes

In this episode we talk with Tactical Paramedic Supervisor Joey Greco, who carries guns AND tourniquets. If he ever has to shoot you, he’ll probably be able to save your life afterward. Joey is one of the TacMeds who train with SWAT and accompany them on callouts, positioned in the hot zone. Although he’s not on the entry team, he’s trained to respond under fire if one of the SWAT operators is harmed. Joey began his lifesaving career as an Explorer with Clearwater FD, where at age 16 he responded to his first cardiac arrest. Hear about his SWAT tryouts, going through the same obstacle course as the operators but then having to save a life while the operator candidates rested, and learn how he graduated from New Guy #2 to New Guy #1. We’re proud to say that Joey has gotten first place in the SWAT Roundup TacMed Challenge two years in a row. Since that’s an international competition, does that mean he’s the best tactical paramedic in the world? We like to think so. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

Jana Demperio could have been a professional stand-up comic, but instead she’s a deputy currently working the desk at our North District Station. She’s done Patrol, Street Crimes, Community Policing, and was a School Resource Officer, but thinks that working the desk is at least as challenging as any of those. The public thinks she can fix any problem, has a skewed perception about what constitutes a crime, and is perfectly willing to yell in her ear about it all. But Jana won Deputy of the Year for heroically taking out a wrong-way drunk driver with her own vehicle, crashing head-on to save the motorists behind her… and talked a suspect out of slitting his own throat… so of course she is going to go above and beyond to help anyone who calls. She deals with cases that can be investigated at the desk, or takes preliminary reports for things like harassing phone calls or runaway juveniles, as well as answering questions about civil matters, custody disputes, and neighbor conflicts. Her favorites are economic crimes calls, helping people avoid scams or deal with their painful aftermath. But really, ma’am, she can’t do anything about that chicken. Unless it’s carrying a gun. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

In this episode we talk with Lieutenant Dave Stang, a man so powerful he can lose eight pints of blood – the amount in an average human – and still be standing, a veritable Paul Bunyan who was running a chainsaw in the timber business at age 11, and was hired as a firefighter before he even finished high school. As a young man he never thought about going into law enforcement, but his superhero origin story is full of foreshadowing: as a teen he saved students and teachers from bullies, and even rescued a state trooper in a fight against a huge drunk. His career began in St. Pete, cleaning up a drug-ravaged housing complex, and plucking guns from rioters’ hands. When he came to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office he spent years taking down some of the county’s most violent offenders. He’s been mistaken for the bodyguard to the head of a notorious biker gang, caught an escaped inmate charged with murder, and may or may not have run over our SWAT Supervisor, Sergeant Brian Diebold. Meet the guy who has never lost a fight, but whose wife thinks he has a cushy desk job now that he’s a lieutenant. (Shh… don’t tell her!) Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

In this episode we talk with PCSO’s answer to Bones – only better because she’s real! Dr. Meredith Tise is not only a forensic anthropologist, she’s also our Forensic Quality Assurance Coordinator, making sure that our Forensics Division is held to the highest standards. She started in a morgue as a teenager, and her work has taken her from the border to body farms as she perfected her knowledge early in her career. She was involved in the excavation at the Dozier School for Boys, uncovering the remains of children and young men who suffered under terrible conditions and died at that notorious facility. She has also helped bring lost WWII service members home, from a pilot who crashed in a dogfight in Germany, to hundreds of Marines killed on the tiny Pacific island of Tarawa. She’s our go-to expert for any unidentified bones found in the county – even if they’re more often pig knuckles from crab traps than evidence of a homicide. Hear about some of the most fascinating cases she’s worked here at PCSO and in her entire career. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website Suncoast Forensics History Flight

In this episode we talk with possibly the happiest man in the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office: Sergeant Jimmy Fortner. He began his career in a super max prison where stabbings, overdoses, hangings, and attacks on guards were commonplace. Now he works at the Pinellas County Jail, which despite the best resources and training can still be fraught with danger. Jimmy is an imposing six-foot-six and 360 pounds but he says he’s never won a fight… even against a Little Person in the Mexican Mafia. Jimmy is a larger-than-life guy who does a lot for the agency, including riding in a helicopter while dressed as Santa. On this episode you’ll hear about how the jail helps psych inmates and the elderly, how to maintain mental health when you work in the jail… and what severed body part he’s had hurled at his chest. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website Mental Health For Heroes

In this episode we talk with the man himself, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. It’s hard to believe he was once an innocent young rookie taking calls for noise complaints and trespass warnings, but those who have heard him call out, “Car 1, 10-50,” on his way home know he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Sheriff Gualtieri started out at the Pinellas County Jail and was an officer in Dunedin before joining the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy. Hear stories from his long stint in Narcotics, Find out why he left law enforcement for law school, and learn how he made his way back to PCSO. He’s an honorable man, motivated by a strong sense of right and wrong, respect for the truth, and contempt for bullies. He’s been in brawls, he’s been in pursuits, he’s arrested murderers… which makes him perfectly suited for fighting for law enforcement legislation in Tallahassee. Join us for an intimate conversation with the man who leads the 15th largest sheriff’s office in the country. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

In this episode we talk with SWAT Supervisor, Sergeant Brian Diebold, a man described by many as a tactical genius. A man who isn’t afraid of anything… except joining us on the podcast. Tune in to find out what he reveals about his long and varied career – and then tell us what he’s leaving out! After years of kicking in doors and catching murderers, Brian is now the guy who has to stay back by the Command Bus while his SWAT studs make entry. That’s hard for a man who has made more door entries than all of his current SWAT team combined. With a long litany of career-related injuries maybe he was almost ready to slow down… but his sudden promotion to sergeant took him from tackling bad guys to a desk job overnight. Funny, we still never see Brian behind a desk. Meet the guy who made the Chevy Suburban cool, and find out if SWAT is going to accept the bold challenge that Lieutenant Freddie Hayes and the Corrections Response Team threw down. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

In this episode we talk with Lieutenant Freddie Hayes who according to a reliable source is, pound for pound, the best at just about everything. Of course Freddie himself is the reliable source, but we haven’t found any evidence to contradict him yet. Whether it’s being locked in a pod alone with 80 inmates or wrangling a poop-covered intake, Freddie can do it all. He leads the Corrections Response Team (CRT) which handles the most dangerous situations in the jail. He also oversees the Honor Guard which stands watch over deputies who perish in the line of duty. And he can sing! But despite all this greatness Freddie is – pound for pound – the most humble and hardworking man you’ll meet. Oh, and he’s thrown down a challenge: CRT vs SWAT. Will next month’s SWAT guest pick up that challenge? Tune in and find out! Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

In this episode we talk with Assistant Forensic Science Supervisor Rhonda Klein, the “Queen of the Meth Labs” who has processed some of the most interesting – and most disgusting – crime scenes imaginable. From hoarder houses to bodies so decomposed that they’re barely recognizable as human, Rhonda has seen it all. She initially trained as a deputy but later followed her first passion for Forensics – see if that early training prepared her for the moment she was trapped alone at a crime scene with a suspect who was hiding in a closet. You’ll find out if local meth labs are just like Breaking Bad, discover the worst smell in all of Forensics, and learn exactly what that was on the bottom of Rhonda’s boot after she left the crime scene… all on the latest episode of 56. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website