FREE • THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2024
VOLUME 11, NO. 46
THE CITY OF PLANT CITY HIRES NEW CHIEF OF POLICE Two Deputy Chiefs were also hired in move to restructure. DAVE HOOVER STAFF WRITER
The new police chief for Plant City Police Department (PCPD) will be Richard Mills, Jr. Mills, who currently oversees the Special Operations Division of the Tampa Police Department, will take the reins from current Chief of Police James Bradford on July 8, 2024. City Manager Bill McDaniel selected Mills from a group of five finalists.
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PLANT CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT BICYCLE SQUAD
Close to the Ground in the Community
An enlarged badge on a wall inside the entrance to PCPD Center.
DAVE HOOVER STAFF WRITER
The Plant City Police Department (PCPD) has a bicycle squad of three people it can deploy as needed. PCPD started the squad last year. Officer Hartmann, Officer Wise, and Sergeant Tester took a 40-hour training class to qualify for bicycle patrol. “You might think it is just riding a bike, but they put you through some cruel obstacle courses,” said Wise. “It’s not just riding like a normal person. It was a very difficult class and it was challenging.” There were many officers at the training from different agencies that are starting bike squads. “Those bicycles are great,” Officer Wise continued. “We’ve been given the opportu-
nity to go out on nights because they are so quiet we can ride up on people....we have been able to roll up on people committing crimes and they don’t even hear us coming.” PCPD also deploys the bikes to parades. During the Christmas Parade some teenagers and young adults were fighting and generally causing trouble. When officers attempted apprehend them they ran. But even though they were young, fast and difficult to catch on foot, they could not get away from the officers on bicycles. “We were able to corral them back in and the other officers were able find out what was going on,” Wise said.
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HAPPY
MOTHER’S
DAY