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New community resource officer named
By TIM GRANT, Times Staff Writer LUTZ -- A sheriff's deputy with a reputation for writing traffic tickets is the newest community resource officer in Lutz. Brian Sherman is replacing former Lutz community resource Deputy Gordon Brown, who recently was promoted to corporal. Sherman had previously worked under Brown in Lutz as a part-time community deputy. "I enjoy working in Lutz," Sherman said. "It's a tight-knit community. They are really involved and there is a real watchful eye for crime." As the new full-time community resource deputy, Sherman will work on community projects, in some cases with the same people he has stopped in Lutz for traffic violations. "He's a very dedicated officer," said Auralee Buckingham, a Lutz community activist. "He's jovial and a lot of fun, but a serious ticket-giver. He has snagged me a couple of times for my lead foot." Buckingham said she got off with a couple of warnings. Still, Sherman managed to write more than 600 traffic tickets this year, even though he took a month of parental leave when his son Tyler was born July 1. Sherman, 35, is ranked ninth out of 1,115 Hillsborough county patrol deputies for the number of traffic tickets written this year. "The biggest problem we have in Lutz is traffic," Sherman said, adding that most of the problems are on U.S. 41, which is six lanes wide. "I write a lot of tickets. But I also give warnings, too." Much of that will change as he transitions into more of an Officer Friendly. First he will coordinate the Lutz Trash Bash on Sept. 21. Volunteers who signed up last year to pick up roadside trash in Lutz collected the second highest amount of trash in the county, second only to the Coastal Cleanup crew. In November, Sherman will coordinate a bicycle rodeo at Maniscalco Elementary School. His duties for that event includes soliciting donations of hotdogs, soda and t-shirts for young participants. Sherman and his wife Linda live in Northdale. He was born in New York, but has lived in Tampa since childhood. He always wanted to be a deputy. "I enjoy helping people," he said. "As a community resource deputy, I'm able to spend more time helping people." -- Tim Grant can be reached at 269-5311 or at grant@sptimes.com
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From the Times |
