Stay Safe

By Antony Vitale

The book covers a period in time when the author was in law enforcement. It tells of his time on the streets and what he encountered from day to day: the deaths, shootings, stabbings, robberies, and police corruption. The book describes the effects all of this had on the authors personal and professional life. The book is very graphic as to the way it describes the incidents throughout. The names have been changed as to not identify and persons living or deceased.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 9, 2012
• ISBN: 9781479723003

Antony Vitale

Antony Vitale was raised Hollywood, Florida, where he attended college and graduated from the Broward County Police Academy sixth in his class. He worked in law enforcement for several years in different departments and for the States Attorney’s Office. He performed many duties while in law enforcement, including street patrol, riot, and crowd control, acting shift sergeant, juvenile, and undercover for the States Attorney’s Office. He left law enforcement to work in the private sector.

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Copyright © 2012 by Antony Vitale.

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgment

Foreword

New River

Academy

The Beat

Neighborhood Kids

Mercy

Death on the Go

Riots

The Training

PIG

Domestic Dispute

One-Night Stand

Justin

Disappointment

Lynn

Jerry the Hooker

Dania PD

Dog Man

No Such Thing as Rape

Pointless

The Call

The Last Straw

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to dedicate this book to my wife for without her patience and understanding I could not have written. Also to my dear friend JC who encouraged me to write it, and without his help, it would not have been possible.

FOREWORD

The late 1960s and early 1970s was a turbulent time across our country. There were race riots to antiwar protests and lawlessness in general. Many people do not know what it is like to be a police officer. It was not just riding around in a police car eating doughnuts. A police officer trains, takes an oath, puts his life on the line to protect people and property. The pay was lousy, the hours long, and when you left for work, you or your spouse never knew whether you would return. It was and still is a dangerous job.

This is my story. When you put on that uniform you are no longer a person, you become a symbol. Some people respect you, others hate you. You become a target of peoples rage. When you are in civilian clothes at a social gathering, you met people who were polite, and when they asked what you do for a living, you would answer police officer. They either wanted to know about your job or expressed their anger toward you. In this book I hope to show you what effect crime, death, violence, rape, and murder had on me. In no way am I trying to excuse my behavior. I hope that one day all law enforcement agencies will have counseling, gyms, and training to help with what law enforcement officers encounter on the street. I will always be a cop at heart. I have the utmost respect for law enforcement officers. The largest percentage of police officers are professional, hardworking, honest, caring family people, and most of all real people with feelings just like you. But as anywhere there are the few who make it bad for the rest. Next time you see a police officer, wave, say hello or even thank them for being there. This book deals with police corruption which is a problem in all cities. I believe corruption starts from top and works its way down, from the top of the command to the bottom. It comes from the basic flaw of humans, greed. Then there is the exception, the police officer who takes the money because of his lousy pay. When that happens with organized crime, you owe them your soul. What really gets under my skin is when you see organized crime figures glorified. Those people are cold, calculating, and vicious. They take advantage of people’s greed, use them, and when they are no longer of value, dispose of them. When I advise a young person who is about to become a police officer, I tell them to approach the profession as a job. Don’t be idealistic. You can’t arrest all the bad guys, and you sure can’t save everybody. Be honest and don’t let yourself be dragged into corruption. Once you sell your soul, there is no turning back. One very important thing, make sure you have a spouse who knows everything that you will encounter. She will need to be patient and understanding. The names in this book have been changed to protect my family. There are still persons out there who would possibly want to harm myself or my family. Hope you enjoy the read. Stay safe!

NEW RIVER

Years ago South Florida was mostly swamp, so to reclaim the land, developers decided to drain the swamp areas by digging a series of canals. Those canals crisscross South Florida from Lake Okeechobee south to Homestead. The canals go from the east coast all the way to the everglades in the central part of South Florida.

As a young boy of twelve, I lived with my family off one of those canals in the south part of Ft. Lauderdale. My father kept his boat docked on a canal near our house. I attended a local school with my friend Butch. Butch was my age and lived three blocks away. A friend of my father gave Butch and me a small dinghy (flat bottom boat) that was in need of repairs. The boat was ten foot long, just big enough for two kids.

Butch and I worked hard repairing the boat—patching, painting, and making it sea worthy while planning our big adventure. Butch’s father gave us a little broken down outboard motor. He probably thought we would never be able to get it running. We broke that engine down, cleaned it up, put it back together and took it down to the dock. There we gassed it up, choked it, pulled the cord; and it ran like a champ.

We were proud of ourselves. We jumped around like a couple of wild chimps. Then we jumped into the canal in celebration of our great accomplishment. We swam around and clowned till we were exhausted. The day was great as we laid on the dock looking at the beautiful Florida sky making our final plans for the big adventure.

We made a list of all the materials we would need for the trip. I borrowed a gas can from my dad’s boat. We stacked all our materials in a small shed by the dock and covered them with a tarp. The day before our trip we gathered the food and drinks we would need, placing them in a small ice chest. We put in some ice and stashed it under the tarp. It was Butch’s job to bring ice in the morning.

The night before I told my mother that I would be up early to go to Butch’s house to help him with yard work, and he told his parents that he would be at my house. Early in the morning I dressed and slipped out of the outside door from my bedroom to a small courtyard then down the street to the dock. There I met Butch who was ready and excited. He even remembered to bring some ice.

We set the boat in the water. Then we attached the small engine to the stern of the boat. Next we loaded all our gear in the boat. We figured we would be back by late that afternoon well before anyone would be concerned. We were off, headed east toward the Intracoastal Waterway. We used two paddles to work our way down the canal and not start the engine till daybreak. It was dark along the way. We could see night lights in the homes along the canal. It was quiet as we moved silently along. We spoke in a whisper as not to wake anyone. We knew if someone saw two kids on the canal that time of the morning they would report us to the law.

My heart was pounding with excitement as we paddled. The current was with us as we made our way to the coast. We were Tom and Huck on the Mississippi, our adventure had begun. The night was clear, the stars shined bright, and the temperature was warm. We surprised a couple of gators as we slid up to them. They splashed and moved away.

Daylight came and it was time to crank up the engine. That little kicker started up right away. It wasn’t long until we were on the Intracoastal Waterway. There we headed south toward Port Everglades. We were headed toward one of the largest seaports on the Florida east coast in that little dingy. The waterway opened up to an extremely large expanse of water which was the port. There were all those ships of all sizes—navy ships, freighters, tankers, tug boats, and every ship you could imagine. Here we were this speck in the water. The good thing was that nothing was moving and the water was calm.

Butch and I looked at each other in awe as we decided what to do next. We decided to stay close to shore and make our way around the port. We would stay as close to the ships as possible and move as fast as that little kicker would go, which wasn’t very fast. The sailors aboard the ships looked down at us in amazement as they waved. Some of the lower doors of the ship were open, and the sailors shouted greetings to us. We waved back and kept on going. The ships towered over us like skyscrapers.

It seemed to take forever to get around the port, but we made it. It was early afternoon when we reached the other side of the port. We were now headed south down the Intracoastal. There we stopped for a rest where we tied up to a banyan tree at the edge of the water. We relieved ourselves and decided to have a bite of lunch. We shared with each other just how nervous we were about the trip around the port. We were too young and stupid to realize just how dangerous that journey around the port had been.

We untied, setting out again south on the Intracoastal. As we looked ahead coming toward us was a large yacht. It was traveling fast and making a very large wake. Way too large for us to ride over. Butch maneuvered the dingy toward the shore as I waved for the yacht to slow. I could see this large wave coming toward us as the yacht passed by, that’s when I yelled for Butch to unfasten the engine. We were going down.

Butch grabbed the engine in his arms as the wave passed over us taking the boat to the bottom. The lucky thing was that we were only in three feet of water. Butch waded over to a banyan tree and hung the engine on a branch. Then we retrieved our gear out of the boat and placed it on the shore. We managed to turn the boat on its side and pull it out of the water placing it on the shore.

There we stood knee-deep in the water, soaking wet, all our gear soaked. We loaded the boat, attached the engine, setting off again on our trip south. We made it to the New River canal where we headed east inland. A ways up the canal we came to a creek that ran southeast toward Dania Beach Boulevard near the bridge that crossed over to the beach. That was Whiskey Creek.

Several years later there would be a gruesome discovery in the creek that would shape the reason for me wanting to become a police officer. I always wanted to be a police officer, but that discovery set me in that direction.

Two young female secretary’s with a large firm in California stole two hundred thousand dollars worth of negotiable securities. They brought them to Hollywood Florida hoping to unload them. At a Hollywood watering hole, they met a fellow who hooked them up with Jack Roland Murphy. Murphy who was known as Murph the Surf had a long criminal past. Murph had a partner Allan Kuhn. Together they committed robberies all over south Florida.

Murph and Kuhn would use high speed boats to rob homes along the waterways. They would also use accomplices from the valet parking of upscale restaurants to furnish them with the keys to the diner’s homes. They would use the keys to open a house then return them to the valet parking attendant. In the mean time they would steal what they wanted, and the home owner would return home to find the burglarized house. Each time they would get a little more brazen and brutal. Then they brutalized a mother and daughter while robbing their waterfront home in Miami.

Murph and Kuhn went to the hotel where the secretaries were staying and met them at the lounge. They talked the ladies into going to their room so they could see the securities. There they strangled the two young women and stole the securities. They took the bodies by boat to Whiskey Creek where they weighed them down with concrete blocks and dumped them in the water.

A few days later a hermit who lived nearby was plundering (looking for anything he could eat, use, or sell) along the creek. It was low tide when he stumbled across the bodies. Murph and Kuhn were sent to prison for the murders. The whole story was all over the media. It made such an impression on me. I wanted even more to be a cop and put those types of people in prison.

Well, back to Butch and me. We made our way up the New River canal when all of a sudden the boat started taking on water. Two cracks had formed in the hull. I grabbed an empty can and began to bail out the water. We were nearing the Ravenswood Marina when I looked at Butch, and we both knew we had gone as far as we could. We pulled the boat to shore and dragged it up on the bank.

My father at one time had docked his boat at the marina, so I knew the owner. He let us call my dad and told us we could leave the dingy where it was. On the drive home with my father we told him the whole story. He looked straight ahead his jaw rigid, and with a stern tone he told us what we did was foolhardy. His face softened, and I could see a small smile. He never said anything to my mother that I knew about. I always felt that for an old sea faring man, in a way he was proud of our adventure.

ACADEMY

Working as a mechanic at a small used car dealership in West Hollywood Florida was not fulfilling. There was just something lacking. As a child I would play cops and robbers with my friends. I always played the cop. I wanted to put the bad guy in jail. Since a child I wanted to be a police officer.

My wife Alice and I lived in Hollywood. We rented a nice two bedroom apartment in a quiet neighborhood. Alice and I had met in Wisconsin, where my parents had moved on my last year of high school. We married and moved to Florida.

One morning while reading the Hollywood Sun Tattler newspaper I came across a notice in the classified section, which read, "Hallandale Police Department accepting applications for police officer. I must have read aloud. Alice cried out. No you will get hurt or killed. You can’t, please don’t." Alice was very upset, and it took quite a while to calm her down. After hours of pleading and explaining how much being a police officer meant to me and that it would be great for our future, Alice gave in and reluctantly said okay.

I drove down to Hallandale, which was sandwiched between Hollywood to the north and Dade County to the south. Entering the police department I approached the sergeant behind the desk, asking for an application for police officer. He nodded and handed me an application. I took the application thanking him, and as I turned, there was a dark haired police sergeant leaning against the counter on my side. He looked me over and said, Hello. He extended his hand saying, I am Sergeant Bota, the Fraternal Order of Police representative. I shook his hand and introduced myself. With a warm smile he wished me well.

Driving home I was excited at the possibility of becoming a police officer. Arriving at the apartment I was greeted by Alice who did not share my enthusiasm. I retrieved a drink from the refrigerator and proceeded to fill out the paperwork. A couple of days passed, during which I completed the forms, double and triple checked every detail.

The forms were turned in. Approximately two weeks later, a letter came in the mail. It was from the Hallandale Police Department. For Alice’s sake I tried not to look too excited as I opened the letter. I slowly opened the letter. It read. You have been selected to take the civil service exam for the position of police officer. The letter gave the date and time too.

Showing up early at the Hallandale Civic hall, I picked up a sealed packet that I was informed not to open until advised to do so. I took a seat and watched the large hall fill with other applicants. Later I found out that there were 250 applicants. Looking around, I thought to myself, You don’t have a chance in hell.

Finishing the test and looking around the room at all those young men gave me the feeling that I had wasted my time. How could I ever compete with all those bright-looking young men? The drive home was quiet. I rode in silence wondering what had I been thinking, 250 applicants, me, ha.

Another two weeks went by, another letter arrived. My hands were shaking as I opened it. It read, You have been selected to appear before an oral board. The letter gave the date and time. My thought was, Where could this be? Do I have a chance? The oral would probably take me apart to see what made me tick.

Before I appeared before the oral board, I went over what question they might ask. The time came for me to appear, and boy was I nervous. The term is sweating bullets, oh yeah! Entering that large room at Hallandale Police Department filled with top cops was unnerving. There were the chief, captains, lieutenants, and sergeants. Sergeant Bota assured me that everything would be okay as he patted me on the back.

The questions were asked in rapid fire succession with little time to answer. One cop after another took turns, from the chief down. There was a pause after what seemed like hours. Sergeant Bota said those were all the questions. I rose and shook hands with everyone as I left the room. Sergeant Bota grabbed the back of my neck and said, You did okay.

A couple of weeks went by and the notice came in the mail: You have been selected, one of six, to be hired by Hallandale Police Department.

I was overcome with relief, joy, and all the other emotions you could imagine. The date for orientation was noted. I reported with five other recruits to Hallandale Police Department. We were sworn in by the city clerk. We took an oath to defend the constitution of the United States and the State of Florida. We also swore to uphold the laws of the State of Florida.

A lieutenant briefed us on department policy and handed each of us a department handbook. The handbook gave us all the do’s and don’ts of the department. Next was our fitting for our new uniforms at a small uniform shop on South Dixie Highway. Then back at the department we were issued a gun belt and the equipment to go with it. There was the handcuff pouch with handcuffs, nightstick ring with nightstick, double ammo pouch, holster, and mace pouch with mace (mace was a highly potent pepper spray). We had to supply our own handgun.

Department policy was for all officers to carry a .38 special with a 4" barrel. You had to keep six rounds of standard .38 special ammo in the weapon and twelve rounds of backup in the ammo pouch. The double ammo pouch had two pouches where you kept six rounds in each.

Sergeant Bota took recruits Lasko, Egan, Woodward, and myself aside and told us that the academy had only two openings at that time. The department would be sending recruits Price and Ingram for that session. The four of us would have to wait for the next session in fifteen weeks. In the mean time we rode with other officers and that time would be applied to our training and year probation. That meant when we completed the academy we would be able to assume regular police duties.

The first night of our training I wanted to make sure my uniform was just right. I took my time with the badge, buttons lanyard, gun belt, shoes, and