Brevard County Sheriff’s Marine Deputy Rescues Boaters From Capsized Vessel

By  //  September 8, 2015

BCSO Deputy James Starr saves three men

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Brevard County Sheriff’s Agricultural/Marine Deputy James Starr, who captains a BCSO Marine unit responsible for Port Security, responded to a capsized boat and located three men – Julio Gonzalez, Fernando Martinez and John Cordero attempting to tread water in turbulent conditions. (BCSO image)

BREVARD COUNTY • PORT CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – This afternoon at approximately 3 p.m., Agricultural/Marine Deputy James Starr was notified that a boat had capsized while attempting to enter Port Canaveral during extremely severe weather.

Deputy Starr, who captains one of our Marine units responsible for Port Security, immediately responded to the scene and located three men – Julio Gonzalez, Fernando Martinez and John Cordero attempting to tread water in the turbulent conditions.

Their boat had completely capsized in approximately seven-foot seas while attempting to navigate the Port entrance.

Deputy Starr encountered the stormy conditions and had great difficulty in moving close enough to the men who were not wearing life jackets and were quickly tiring.

Deputy Starr was able to position his boat as quickly as possible to successfully rescue all three men from the water.

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Deputy James Starr, second from left, saved Julio Gonzalez, Fernando Martinez and John Cordero after their boat capsized while attempting to enter Port Canaveral during extremely severe weather. (BCSO image)

Once safely aboard the Sheriff’s Office vessel, Deputy Starr transported the men to the Freddie Patrick Park Boat Ramp, where Canaveral Fire Rescue had staged for medical treatment.

It was later determined that the men had began to take on water and the boat became unstable when the bilge pump could no longer remove the water fast enough.

The men then dropped anchor in an effort to stabilize the boat, but the rough seas rolled the vessel, ejecting the men into the water.

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The men stated they had treaded water for approximately 20 minutes before their rescue.

If not for the incredible efforts of our Port Security Deputy James Starr’s quick actions, this incident could have had a very tragic ending.

Please join me in thanking Deputy Starr for his outstanding efforts to rescue the three men who were visiting Port Canaveral for the Labor Day Holiday Weekend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.

Sheriff Wayne Ivey

Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft. That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today. The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.

Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.

Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.