CLEARWATER
POLICE EXPLORERS WIN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
POST
31 TAKES 1st PLACE FOR THE 3rd TIME IN FIVE
YEARS
Clearwater
Police Department Explorer Post 31 was named the overall best
Explorer Post in the state at the culmination of the week-long
Florida Association of Police Explorers competition, Chief Sid
Klein announced today.
Competing
against 35 other Florida posts in law-enforcement-related disciplines
such as Crisis Intervention and Crime Scene Investigations, Clearwater
Post 31 was crowned Florida State Champions Saturday (July 1)
in West Palm Beach. Clearwater also won the state championship
in 1996 and 1997.
"Our
kids worked real hard to prepare for the competition this year,
and I think they really paid attention when it counted,"
said Police Explorer Advisor Officer Nancy Burgarella. "I
think what’s particularly impressive about their success is that
two members of the team had to cancel out shortly before the trip,
and we competed with only five members."
Police
Explorers, a branch of the Boy Scouts of America, is a program
that offers young men and women between the ages of 14 and 21
a hands-on introduction to the career of law enforcement.
Led
by 19-year-old Post Captain Lisa Turcotte, the five-member Clearwater
complement also placed third overall in the pistol team competition.
Additionally, the team won four 1st place trophies
(Traffic Crash Investigations, Crime Scene Investigations, Bomb
Threat and a tie-breaker: Bio-Hazard Incident) and two 3rd
place trophies (Traffic Stop and Crisis Intervention).
Clearwater
Explorer Roy White placed 1st in the Pistol Expert
Class; Clearwater Explorer Lieutenant Chris Cornelius placed 2nd
in Pistol Expert Class; and Explorer Captain Lisa Turcotte placed
2nd in the Pistol Sharpshooter Class. Clearwater Police
Explorer Advisor Detective Mark Weaver won 1st place
in the Advisors’ Pistol Competition.
Explorer
Lieutenant Chris Cornelius, 18, won a $1,000 Florida
Police Chief’s Association Scholarship and was runner-up in
the Florida Law written exam. Other Tampa Bay area Explorer teams
that trophied include the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, which
placed 2nd, and the St. Petersburg Police Department
Explorer Post, which placed 4th.
"I
can’t imagine a team performing any better than our Clearwater
Explorers did this year," said Chief Klein. "Their predecessors
set a pretty high standard by winning the state competition twice
in the late ‘90s. But considering that the team was depleted at
the last minute, this was a remarkable achievement."
Members
of the winning team include Captain Turcotte, Lieutenant Cornelius,
Explorer Roy White, Explorer Sean Cappielo and Explorer James
Millard. They were led by advisors Officer Nancy Burgarella, Detective
Mark Weaver, and Andrea Milian.
Anyone
interested in joining Explorer Post 31 may call Officer Burgarella
at 727-562-4149. For additional information regarding Post 31’s
state championship, please contact Public Information Officer
Wayne Shelor at 562-4333.
/s/
SID KLEIN
Chief of Police