By TAMARA LUSH and CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD
Published May 8, 2003
Tampa Police Detective Vincent Bush has hired Barry Cohen's law firm and is "reviewing his options" regarding the erroneous arrest warrant issued by the Tarpon Springs Police Department.
Bush, 42, was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail recently after a routine background check turned up a warrant for his arrest. Accused of stealing a beer from a Tarpon Springs gas station and pushing a clerk to the ground when she tried to stop him, he was briefly suspended from his job.
Police said a rookie officer asked prosecutors to issue a warrant for Bush's arrest in 2002 after viewing a poor-quality videotape. But the suspect in the videotape looked nothing like Bush, officials said.
Once they discovered the mistake, the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office dropped the charge.
Bush, a 17-year veteran of the force, is back at TPD.
Stephen Romine, an attorney with Cohen's Tampa law firm, said Bush is reviewing the case because of the "obvious damage it did to his reputation as a police officer."
ANOTHER CANDIDATE? A 29-year veteran of the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office might be the latest possible candidate for sheriff.
Lt. Kevin Fitzpatrick confirmed Wednesday that he is pondering a run for office.
"It's something that I've aspired to do since I was a small boy," said Fitzpatrick. He said he will decide this summer.
Fitzpatrick is the night shift commander of District Two.
The agency's chief deputy, David Gee, has already announced his candidacy for the 2004 election, as has retired FBI agent Lane Bonner of Plant City. Another rumored candidate: Tampa Police Chief Bennie Holder, who retires later this year.
A HISTORICAL FIGURE: At the end of this month, Tampa Police Lt. Robert Pennington will retire, marking the end of his 31-year career with the department. But his contributions to TPD will continue in more ways than one.
Not only has he researched and written a history of the department, he founded the Tampa Police Museum and helps organize the Tampa Police Memorial Ceremony held each May.
The sixth annual memorial ceremony was Tuesday. After a solemn speech from Chief Bennie Holder about the city's fallen officers, Holder turned to Pennington to offer him thanks.
Holder then announced that the police museum has been renamed in honor of its patron saint. A bronze sign marking the location of the Lt. Robert Pennington Police Museum sits at the museum's entrance.
During the presentation, Pennington looked shocked.
"I thought, "What's he doing?' " Pennington said later.
"He thought I was going to give him a plaque," Holder said with a chuckle. Apparently, Holder and several others - including Pennington's family - knew about the honor for a week. Which, in police gossip circles, is an eternity.
"I thought it was going to leak out," Holder said.
PROMOTIONS AND KUDOS: Tanya Preza, a community service officer at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Detention Department, has been selected as the American Jail Association Civilian Employee of the Year. Preza is a field training officer at the Orient Road Jail . . . Tracy Walker was recently elected president of the Tampa Firefighters Union. He was the union's vice president . . . Tampa police Captain Marion Lewis was re-elected as the president of the Association of Black Law Enforcement officers. Lewis has been with TPD for 23 years and currently works with the QUAD squad . . . Mayor Pam Iorio is expected to swear in police Chief Bennie Holder to a fourth term during a City Council meeting today.
SPEAKING OF THE CHIEF . . .: Iorio said she is in the process of "developing criteria" to help select the new leaders of the police and fire departments.
Chief Pete Botto retires at the end of June, and Holder is set to retire in August.
During the campaign, Iorio said she would pick from within the talent pool in each department.
Now, she says, she will review how many people in each department will meet the criteria, and if need be, expand the search.
"Local applicants can compete with national applicants," she said.
