Home » Home » City of Melbourne Hosts Groundbreaking Ceremony for Joseph Pellicano Law Enforcement Center

City of Melbourne Hosts Groundbreaking Ceremony for Joseph Pellicano Law Enforcement Center

By  //  September 15, 2022

New 76,390 square-foot, two-story building will bring all MPD divisions together under one roof

City of Melbourne officials conducted a groundbreaking Wednesday of its new police headquarters building, the Joseph Pellicano Law Enforcement Center. (MPD image)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – City of Melbourne officials conducted a groundbreaking Wednesday of its new police headquarters building, the Joseph Pellicano Law Enforcement Center.

A ceremony to celebrate this momentous occasion with community members and elected leaders was held at 250 West NASA Boulevard, on the northeast corner of NASA Boulevard and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.

Melbourne voters approved financing the design and construction of a new police facility through general obligation bonds via referendum on November 6, 2018.

The new 76,390 square-foot, two-story building will bring all MPD divisions together under one roof to help make emergency response more efficient and to streamline information sharing.

Outbuildings on the site will include covered storage for oversized vehicles, an auxiliary building for evidence analysis and storage not requiring climate control, and secure storage areas for impounded vehicles and equipment.

The new facility will also feature a community room where residents and officers can work together to help make neighborhoods safer.

The Melbourne City Council named the new police headquarters in honor of Officer Joseph Pellicano, who is the only member of the Melbourne Police Department to have been killed in the line of duty. Officer Pellicano’s end of watch was on October 17, 1986, when he was struck during the pre-dawn hours while directing traffic at a house fire on Sarno Road. (MPD image)

The Melbourne City Council named the facility in honor of Officer Joseph Pellicano, who is the only member of the Melbourne Police Department to have been killed in the line of duty.

Officer Pellicano’s end of watch was on October 17, 1986, when he was struck during the pre-dawn hours while directing traffic at a house fire on Sarno Road. Officer Pellicano had worked at the Melbourne Police Department as a Patrol Officer for 3 ½ years at the time of his death.

He had been awarded the department’s exceptional duty service bar twice, including once in 1983 for pulling a person from a burning building.

He coached in the Police Athletic League and attended Brevard Community College, where he was working toward his associate’s degree in criminal justice.

Officer Pellicano had an excellent reputation in the department and was a respected member of the law enforcement family.

WATCH: BCSO Features Deputy Joshua Chamberlin from Cape Canaveral Precinct in ‘Riding Shotgun’Related Story:
WATCH: BCSO Features Deputy Joshua Chamberlin from Cape Canaveral Precinct in ‘Riding Shotgun’

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS