Sheriff Recognizes West Precinct Deputies of Month
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // March 30, 2015
BCSO deputies of the month
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA — During the early morning hours of February 6, Sergeant Jacqueline Hearon, Deputy Andrew Johnson and Deputy Nicholas Worthy responded to the area of Woods Circle in Cocoa regarding a vehicle fire.
Upon arrival, they observed a vehicle parked in a driveway, fully engulfed in flames in front of a residence.
The fire had spread to another vehicle parked close by and to the residence itself.
All three personnel began to attempt to awaken the occupants of the home but quickly realized that all of the normal entry and exit points were blocked by the fire.
The Deputies ran to the back and sides of the residence where they observed a burning gas can directly under the natural gas line and meter for the home.
Deputy Johnson located a 2×4 with which he broke a bathroom window and was able to locate the lone occupant trapped inside the residence.
A later inspection completed by BCFR confirmed that the fire was an act of arson that was intentionally set to trap the occupant inside the residence. The responding Deputies actions prevented the occupant from being overcome by smoke or significant injuries due to the fire.
The three Deputies then lifted the resident out through the window and to the safety of a nearby Patrol Car.
The Deputies then began to evacuate the surrounding residences to ensure the safety of the nearby residents as well until the fire could be controlled by Brevard County Fire Rescue.
A later inspection completed by BCFR confirmed that the fire was an act of arson that was intentionally set to trap the occupant inside the residence.
The responding Deputies actions prevented the occupant from being overcome by smoke or significant injuries due to the fire.
Both Deputy Johnson and Deputy Worthy sustained limited smoke inhalation but continued to perform their duties for the remainder of their shift.
Earlier during that same evening, both Deputy Johnson and Deputy Worthy also responded to another fire located at Qablawi’s Auto sales in Cocoa where they observed another fire from a vehicle parked close to the unoccupied building.
They utilized their department issued fire extinguishers and a garden hose to control the fire prior to the arrival of BCFR and had most of it extinguished.
This fire was determined to have been the result of an electrical issue with a vehicle on the car lot and although caused some damage to the property and surrounding vehicles, no injuries occurred to other persons.
I could not be more proud of the actions of all three of our team members and ask that you join me in congratulating Sgt. Hearon, Deputy Johnson, and Deputy Worthy for their actions and for being chosen as February’s Deputies of the Month for our West Precinct.
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.
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.
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.
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.
