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The Wrong Stuff

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John Dyce

Published: October 7, 2008

Because of ubiquitous letters to the editor from his supporters, we are well aware of sheriff candidate Ron Grimming's impressive resume.

The most recent letter urged us to research Mr. Grimming's background before making our decision on whom to vote for. Sure enough, a Google search verified that Mr. Grimming was indeed a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) official, headed up campus police forces, oversaw law enforcement schools and co-authored successful books on law enforcement.

The one position that relates directly to the job of sheriff is his stint at FHP. That's because, like Sheriff Benton, Grimming handled a major area, made important decisions about equipment, budgets and operations, and managed sworn officers dealing with the public at large. Even supporters of Sheriff Benton would likely agree that were Mr. Grimming successful at FHP, his other law enforcement credentials and years of experience would make him a worthy opponent. So how do we learn how he did at FHP?

Fortunately, Google provided information about Mr. Grimming's FHP performance.

It wasn't good. In "Lost Patrol," a scathing exposé of the FHP by the prestigious St. Petersburg Times, Mr. Grimming was prominently featured in the section titled, ironically, The Outsider.

According to the article, Mr. Grimming took troopers off of the street, fought to increase staffing by 25 percent, made the local sheriff's job harder and focused more on adding equipment such as helicopters than on addressing the serious performance problems and low trooper morale that existed during his tenure. (You can find the article by searching: "Lost Patrol St. Pete.")

After FHP, it seems that Mr. Grimming made the wise career decision to move on to endeavors that better suited his talents. He should stay on that course.

John Dyce Lorida

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