PANAMA CITY — Only after running over one deputy, speeding down the wrong side of the road without headlights and losing control from two blown tires did the car finally careen to a halt.
Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies had the red 1995 Honda Civic blocked at about 11:15 p.m. on one of the busiest sections of Thomas Drive during Spring Break. But the driver was able to get the car cranked and accelerated around one BCSO vehicle before crashing into two others.
Deputy Stephen O’Brien was one of the three deputies treated by EMS after the encounter. He was hit by the car of a fleeing suspect that night, and O’Brien was there because he signed up for off-duty security detail, watching over a parking lot to make some extra money.
Across the county at restaurants, bars, concerts, special events and stores, some law enforcement officers may be in uniform, but they aren’t being paid with the agencies’ allocated tax dollars. Instead, they’re being paid by private businesses or other governmental entities.
They can work for private businesses in several capacities with a few exceptions, as long as there’s at least an eight-hour break before their regular duty. However, some issues have arisen over off-duty officers being used to benefit their employer beyond the scope of their sworn duties.
Bay County officials consider it a benefit to the community to have more law enforcement on the street without burdening taxpayers with the cost.
“Even though they’re being paid by someone else, they are working as sworn officers,” said Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen. “A plumber can’t do what we do; a maid or condo owner can’t. Only a law enforcement officer can enforce the law.”
Officers are limited to the types of jobs they can accept off the clock, but all law enforcement agency in Bay County allow officers to perform special-duty or off-duty detail to supplement income.
And in the span of a year, nearly half of all officers opt for at at least one shift of off-duty detail, Spring Break and summer being the most demanding on law enforcement. The officers who do the work are mostly trying to keep up with life on a officer’s salary, which can start out at about $30,000 a year.
“I can assure you nobody loves this job enough to do it 24 hours a day,” McKeithen said. “It’s to supplement income to help them pay their bills for everyday things they need.”
Of the sworn officers who work off-duty detail, an average bring home an additional $200 to $300 a week.
O’Brien was in his BCSO uniform when he witnessed what he suspected was a drug deal involving the red Civic in the Spinnaker Beach Club parking lot at 8795 Thomas Drive in late March. Officers — off-duty, on-duty, in uniform or not — are sworn to uphold the law. And in their contracts with private businesses, it stipulates that if illegal activity is noticed, the officer “would be required to leave” and pursue the suspects.
O’Brien had begun to approach the car when the driver spotted him. The car sped off, struck the deputy and caused him to roll up and off the car’s hood. Two other highway patrol officers darted out the car’s way before it sped eastward without its headlights on.
Compensation
Most agencies will not allow police to work extra duty at events or establishments that serve a certain amount of alcohol. But some are approved on a case-by-case basis when the sale of alcohol is incidental to the primary function of the event. Sporting events, Spring Break functions in Panama City Beach and Panama City’s Friday Fest are a few examples where additional officers are needed — but not necessarily financially feasible.
“Spring Break is a prime example,” McKeithen said. “We couldn’t pay these guys to be out there ourselves. But we count on them to back up our other guys if something happens.”
Officers are not allowed to work for bail bond companies, as private investigators or for any business that adversely affects the performance of their duties as an officer or creates a conflict of interest.
Most private businesses have officers’ pay set at an hourly rate. BCSO deputies require $28 an hour; Panama City police require $25 an hour.
Officers are paid out of the employers’ pocket with a check written directly to the officer. Use of a BCSO patrol car costs $2 an hour more to cover fuel.
Spinnaker opted not to pay for the patrol car, so O’Brien radioed for assistance. Three officers working the crowds behind Ms. Newby’s Liquors, about a quarter-mile away, responded. Other deputies began pursuing the car as the three attempted to head it off with a spike strip.
The car sped past, weaving into the oncoming traffic lane, before they could get the spikes in place. Within a few seconds, officers watched the car crash into a curb, blow out its two rear tires and sputter to a stop on the north side of Thomas Drive near Utes Drive as cops swarmed. Plumes of smoke rose from the Civic’s undercarriage as its tires spun, colliding with three BCSO vehicles and causing about $3,500 in damage to the patrol vehicles.
Two officers sustained injuries from the incident.
The driver was taken to jail on several counts of aggravated battery on an officer and fleeing. Drug charges were not brought against him.
Although working more may place officers in harm’s way more often, McKeithen said it affords them more opportunities for necessities while providing law enforcement resources in areas they would otherwise be heavily outnumbered.
“The ability to find outside sources of income for officers is limited, so it is a benefit to them and to the community,” McKeithen said. “It’s positive because they haven’t had raises in five years. It helps them pay the rent, feed the kids and keep the lights on while also putting more officers out on the streets.”