Plantation Police

On February 24, 2011, at approximately 12:46 p.m., Plantation police officers were dispatched to a suspicious persons call in the 4700 block of NW 2nd Place. The complainant advised several subjects were acting suspiciously. Officer Murphins, who was working in an unmarked vehicle, advised he was watching the subjects prior to the call being dispatched and requested responding units stay out of the area while he maintained surveillance of them.

Officer Murphins watched the subjects meet two other people in the same area. He saw several of the subjects enter a backyard of a house in the 300 block of NW 47th Avenue while one waited outside possibly as the look-out. Believing a burglary to be in progress at the house, Officer Murphins called for additional police assistance. Three subjects were seen running from the back yard and Officer Murphins broadcast descriptions of the three and their direction of flight. Responding officers were able to locate two of the three subjects and take them into custody charging them with residential burglary and resisting arrest.

Officer Erik Carlton was selected as Officer of the Month for April because of his work on two cases.

On April 12 Officer Carlton investigated a theft of jewelry from a residence. The victims provided Officer Carlton with a list of the stolen jewelry and a list of the people who had access to the home during the time frame the thefts occurred. Officer Carlton began searching pawn records and located an item of jewelry that was pawned by the victim’s daughter’s boyfriend. Officer Carlton notified the victims who came to the pawn shop and identified their stolen jewelry. With the assistance of Detective Joe Quaregna the victims were able to recover some of their stolen property.

On April 18 Officer Carlton and another officer met with a woman who was being stalked by her former boyfriend. The woman had seen the former boyfriend riding by her house on a bicycle. The former boyfriend was trying to disguise his identity by wearing a wig and baseball cap. The woman had obtained a restraining order against the former boyfriend who lives in Boynton Beach. Officer Carlton began searching the neighborhood for the boyfriend’s vehicle which he located. After Officer Carlton received permission to set up surveillance on the boyfriend’s vehicle, he observed the boyfriend jogging through the woman’s neighborhood which was a violation of the restraining order. The former boyfriend was arrested and a possible serious domestic issue was averted.

Officer Carlton’s efforts in both these incidents reflect his dedication and his desire to serve the community. For these reasons he was selected as Officer of the Month for April 2011.

On May 6, 2011, at approximately 11:30 a.m., Officer Michael Hanlon was patrolling his assigned zone when he saw a male subject walk from a Dodge Charger towards the front door of a house. The subject was acting suspiciously and appeared to be concerned about Officer Hanlon’s presence. He checked the vehicle tag and determined the car was a rental. Officer Hanlon knew that many burglars are now using rented Dodge Chargers so he stopped to check the situation.

Officer Hanlon contacted the subject in the driveway and a second subject who was driving the Charger. They each gave conflicting stories about why they were at that house and neither could provide any information on who they were supposed to be visiting. Officer Hanlon received permission to search the vehicle and found items and tools that are commonly used to commit burglaries. The subject in the driveway had an arrest history for burglary and the vehicle driver had a suspended license.

Using the information he developed, along with his instincts and experience, Officer Hanlon arrested both subjects for Loitering and Prowling. Officer Hanlon’s instincts and good police skills enabled him to prevent a residential burglary. The day before Officer Hanlon prevented another residential burglary when he saw four subjects walking towards the rear of the Parc Village residences. When they saw Officer Hanlon, they fled on foot and were all later apprehended. All four were truants who were returned to their respective schools.

Officer Justin Miller was selected as the Officer of the Month for June 2011 for his exemplary work on two separate incidents.

On June 24, 2011, at approximately 12:16 a.m., Officer Miller was patrolling his assigned zone when he saw three male subjects walk from the Village Green apartments and walk south on NW 42nd Avenue. The subjects were acting suspiciously. Officer Miller observed the subjects, one carrying a backpack, approach a house and then stop. The three subjects began to look up and down the street and at surrounding houses. Officer Miller contacted the subjects and the one carrying the backpack immediately threw it and a shiny object into the bushes. The shiny object was a center punch and the backpack contained latex gloves, a radar detector and several GPS units. All the electronic devices were found to have been stolen.

On June 9, 2011, Officer Miller was patrolling his assigned zone when he saw a subject, dressed all in black clothing, riding a bicycle through the Park Place apartment complex parking lot. Officer Miller watched the subject go from vehicle to vehicle looking inside the windows. Officer Miller stopped the subject and found he was carrying a center punch (typically used to break into vehicles). The subject was identified as a previous offender in prior property crimes in the city.

Officer Miller’s actions in these two incidents prevented more vehicle burglaries and resulted in the recovery of a number of stolen electronic devices. It is for these reasons that Officer Justin Miller was selected as Officer of the Month for June 2011.

In March 2011, Officer Stephen Morrissey was asked to assume the position of temporary supervisor of the Traffic Unit. According to his supervisor, Officer Morrissey ran the unit flawlessly and excelled in every task.

The tasks consisted of keeping his immediate supervisor(s) aware of all problems that were occurring or had the potential to occur.  He single handedly kept the payroll up to date for the police officers, the community service aides, and the school crossing guards that are assigned to the unit.  He modified schedules as needed and ensured that every assignment would be staffed. 

He oversaw the school crossing guards and made sure no school crossing post went unmanned.  He reviewed the traffic crashes that came through the traffic office with the service aide assigned to the Traffic Unit in an effort to reduce the work load and negate the necessity of a second CSA being assigned to the Traffic Unit.  When necessary he covered the Traffic Unit’s Service Aide’s job when she was off.

Officer Morrissey acts as the Plantation Officer in Charge at DUI check points for other jurisdictions when the traffic sergeant is not available.  When his daily and administrative duties were complete, he stripped the Traffic Unit’s motorcycles of their old equipment for trade and outfitted the spare motorcycles with lights should the need arise

Generally the officer of the month selection is for a specific act of deed; however, in this case Officer Morrissey’s continuous and ongoing commitment to the Traffic Unit has proven that he is truly a man for all seasons.  In short, Officer Morrissey did it all and has proven to be the personification of professionalism.  It is for these reasons that Officer Stephen Morrissey was selected as Officer of the Month for July 2011.

On August 20, 2011, at approximately 2:45 a.m. an armed carjacking occurred at the Sheraton Suites Hotel 311 N. University Dr. A short time later Officer Vandenhouten saw the vehicle and a pursuit ensued that ended in the arrest of the suspect in Ft. Lauderdale.

On August 28, 2011, at approximately 3:26 a.m. officers were dispatched to the Las Prados apartment complex reference to two suspicious white males looking into vehicles with flashlights. Officer Vandenhouten responded and stopped a vehicle driving with an expired tag. Both occupants were eventually arrested for Loitering and Prowling; a search of the vehicle uncovered a stolen wallet and a stolen iPod that were taken in a vehicle burglary in the same complex.

In addition to his normal duties as a K-9 handler Officer Vandenhouten is a K-9 trainer and recently completed the requirements to be a FDLE K-9 team Evaluator. He is currently the lead instructor in a 480 hour basic K-9 handler course being hosted by the Plantation Police Department. 

In August Officer Vandenhouten was directly responsible for the arrest of three persons involved in an armed carjacking and at least one vehicle burglary, as well as ensuring the return of the victim’s property. His outstanding performance as well as dedication to the Police Department is deserving of recognition. It is for these reasons that Officer Aaron Vandenhouten was selected as Officer of the Month for August 2011.

During September 2011, Officer Greg Murphins was directly responsible for the arrest of six persons involved in three incidents in Plantation. Two of the incidents involved residential burglary suspects and the third involved an armed convicted felon. Residential burglary is one of the most invasive property crimes because of the personal and sentimental value of the property that is stolen.

On September 1st, Plantation dispatch received a call about three suspicious persons at a house. Officer Murphins arrived on the scene and immediately detained two subjects who were in a vehicle parked across the street from the call location. Both these subjects and a third who was located nearby were all subsequently arrested for residential burglary.

On September 9th Officer Murphins was conducting surveillance in a residential neighborhood due to recent burglaries in the area. Officer Murphins watched two subjects go to the rear of a house. When Officer Murphins approached the subjects they ran from him. Both subjects were caught after a foot pursuit and arrested. The subjects had attempted to break the rear sliding glass door in an attempt to burglarize the home.

On September 15th officer Murphins stopped two subjects who were acting suspiciously. One subject was acting very nervous and Officer Murphins asked if he was carrying a weapon. When the subject placed his hands on his head (at Officer Murphins direction) his shirt lifted revealing a handgun in his right rear pocket. The subject was a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

On October 13, 2011, at approximately 8:25 p.m., Plantation Police dispatch received a call reference a residential burglary that had just occurred. The homeowner said one subject ran on foot and two others got into a waiting red Ford Expedition which fled the area towards Sunrise Blvd.

Officer Chad Fowler realized that the burglary subjects were probably trying to get to a main thoroughfare so he positioned his vehicle at the intersection of NW 65th Avenue and Sunrise Blvd. Approximately one minute later Officer Fowler saw a red Expedition occupied by three male subjects leave the area and drive east on Sunrise Blvd. Officer Fowler followed the vehicle until additional officers were available to assist and he attempted to stop the Expedition. Instead of stopping the vehicle crossed the median and began driving south in the northbound lanes of Sunset Strip in the City of Sunrise.

The vehicle came to an abrupt stop and two subjects jumped out and ran. Officer Fowler was able to immediately take the third subject into custody. A perimeter was set up with Sunrise PD officers assisting. Plantation PD K-9 Officer Vandenhouten and his K-9 partner located one of the two subjects who fled.

Officer Fowler’s quick thinking, area knowledge and police instincts led to the capture of two burglary suspects, the identification of the third suspect, and the recovery of the victim’s expensive stolen property. It is for these reasons that Officer Chad Fowler was selected as Officer of the Month for October 2011.

On November 10, 2011, a BOLO was issued, indicating that probable cause existed for the arrest of a male subject identified from a fingerprint left at the scene of a burglary.  In addition, a second subject was observed running with the first subject from the residence carrying pillow cases.  Officers attempted to locate the first subject to place him under arrest, but were unable to at that time. Investigation revealed that the subjects frequently drove a green Mercury Mountaineer. The vehicle was located in Plantation and placed under surveillance

On Monday, November 21, 2011, Officers Ryan and Smith followed the vehicle as it went to various residential neighborhoods in Coral Springs, Margate, North Lauderdale, Tamarac, and Sunrise.  The driver of the vehicle committed a traffic violation in the 4100 block of W. Sunrise Blvd. and the officers stopped the vehicle.  The vehicle was occupied by three subjects. 

Officer Smith immediately recognized a box of jewelry in plain view on the front passenger floorboard and an additional jewelry box was found in the vehicle. 

After Miranda Warnings were read to the subjects, they admitted that they were driving around burglarizing houses to make money.  One subject stated that two of them would enter the residences; while the other waited in the car acting as a lookout.  Sunrise Police confirmed a residential burglary occurred at one of the location identified by Officers Ryan and Smith.  All three subjects were arrested and the vehicle towed to the Plantation Police Department to obtain a search warrant.  The subjects were initially charged with possession of stolen property, but further investigation will most likely lead to further charges.

The diligence, persistence and teamwork that they displayed was crucial to locating, following and then apprehending the suspects.    It is for these reasons that Officers Ed Ryan and Todd Smith has been selected as Officer of the Month for November 2011.