Sheriff Honors Canaveral Deputies For Valorous Service
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // April 18, 2015
Doug Postlethweight, David Turbeville honored
Brevard County Sheriff’s Deputies Saved the Lives of Two People and Their Pets
BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — On February 27, Deputy Doug Postlethweight and Deputy David Turbeville responded to an apartment fire in the area of Chandler Street in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The citizen who called to report the apartment fire advised that two adults and several pets lived inside the apartment and had not been observed leaving the apartment since the fire had started.
Upon arrival at the scene Deputies Turbeville and Postlethweight went to the rear of the apartment in an attempt to gain entry.
The apartment was already filled with heavy black smoke making it difficult for the Deputies to see inside the apartment for potential occupants.
As the team made every effort to summons the occupants to the door they observed someone on the sofa in the living room and immediately broke out the sliding glass door to gain entry into the home.
Deputy Turbeville and Deputy Postlethweight then entered the apartment and located the female occupant unconscious on the sofa.
The Deputies worked together to carry the victim outside of the apartment where she subsequently regained consciousness but was extremely disoriented.
The female occupant told the Deputies that no one else was inside the home but the Deputies still believed that someone else could be in the apartment based upon the initial call from the citizen.
Deputy Postlethweight then stepped back inside the residence that was heavily filled with smoke and began to call for anyone in the residence.
Within seconds, a male occupant announced his presence but could not find the exit because of the smoke.
Deputy Postlethweight directed the victim to follow the sound of his voice until he could see the victim and physically help him outside to safety.
The male occupant alerted the Deputies that there were several pets inside who were located and brought outside by members of the Canaveral Fire Rescue.
From the time the call was dispatched until the time that both occupants were rescued was a total of seven minutes.
There is no question that the actions of Deputy Postlethweight and Deputy Turbeville saved the lives of the two adult occupants and the lives of their pets.
I am truly amazed by the commitment to protect others that our Deputies and team members display every day while representing our agency with professionalism and honor.
Please join me in commending Deputy Turbeville and Deputy Postlethweight for their life saving efforts.
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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.
