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Police talk to focus on youth safety

Police Chief Lester Aradi hosts an informal chat with the public each month.

LARGO - Every month, Police Chief Lester Aradi meets with the public to answer questions in an informal setting. He calls it "Coffee With the Chief."

After the abduction of Carlie Brucia in Sarasota last week, Aradi decided the next community coffee would focus on keeping children safe.

So this Friday's event, starting at 9 a.m. at the TOPS Restaurant at 800 East Bay Drive, will include detectives from the department's youth services division, information on the Amber Alert plan, children's fingerprinting, bicycle registration and other topics involving youth safety.

"Many parents may have questions now, and we're here to tell them there's an avenue of information for them," Aradi said Friday.

City Manager Steve Stanton is also scheduled to appear, along with the Police Department's mobile command vehicle and McGruff the Crime Dog.

Carlie's body was found Friday morning outside a church a few miles from the Sarasota car wash where she was abducted Feb. 1. Joseph P. Smith, 37, a father of three girls with a criminal background, was charged with murder in the case.