By Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Welcome to 56: A Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Podcast. Three curious and well-informed civilians – Ricky, Laura, and Ashley – will find the most interesting people and fascinating stories from
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The podcast currently has 17 episodes available.
You don’t have to do much to become one of the best-known people at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office – just get shot three times (once in the neck), and fight through surgery, physical therapy, fears of painkiller addiction, and the monsters in your own mind to emerge stronger than ever as a powerful example of how to not only survive but thrive through adversity. Corporal Matt Aitken is best known for that harrowing incident of March 12, 2023, when a routine track turned deadly and he was saved by his K-9 partner Taco and Sergeant Jake Viano. But no one is defined by a single day. Matt is a drummer who wanted to go pro before answering the siren call of law enforcement. He’s a former K-9 handler who is now putting his tactical mind to work in our Training Division. He’s a family man whose strong bond with his daughter reminds him there is light in the darkest days. Above all, he’s a man who understands that it is okay to be broken, to admit that you don’t always know how to navigate what the world throws at you. Join us as we talk with someone who has learned how to use his pain, and now hopes to help others who battle PTSD, sadness, or loss.
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Mental Health For Heroes
In this episode we talk with Tactical Paramedic Supervisor Joey Greco, who carries guns AND tourniquets. If he ever has to shoot you, he’ll probably be able to save your life afterward. Joey is one of the TacMeds who train with SWAT and accompany them on callouts, positioned in the hot zone. Although he’s not on the entry team, he’s trained to respond under fire if one of the SWAT operators is harmed. Joey began his lifesaving career as an Explorer with Clearwater FD, where at age 16 he responded to his first cardiac arrest. Hear about his SWAT tryouts, going through the same obstacle course as the operators but then having to save a life while the operator candidates rested, and learn how he graduated from New Guy #2 to New Guy #1. We’re proud to say that Joey has gotten first place in the SWAT Roundup TacMed Challenge two years in a row. Since that’s an international competition, does that mean he’s the best tactical paramedic in the world? We like to think so.
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Jana Demperio could have been a professional stand-up comic, but instead she’s a deputy currently working the desk at our North District Station. She’s done Patrol, Street Crimes, Community Policing, and was a School Resource Officer, but thinks that working the desk is at least as challenging as any of those. The public thinks she can fix any problem, has a skewed perception about what constitutes a crime, and is perfectly willing to yell in her ear about it all. But Jana won Deputy of the Year for heroically taking out a wrong-way drunk driver with her own vehicle, crashing head-on to save the motorists behind her… and talked a suspect out of slitting his own throat… so of course she is going to go above and beyond to help anyone who calls. She deals with cases that can be investigated at the desk, or takes preliminary reports for things like harassing phone calls or runaway juveniles, as well as answering questions about civil matters, custody disputes, and neighbor conflicts. Her favorites are economic crimes calls, helping people avoid scams or deal with their painful aftermath. But really, ma’am, she can’t do anything about that chicken. Unless it’s carrying a gun.
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In this episode we talk with Lieutenant Dave Stang, a man so powerful he can lose eight pints of blood – the amount in an average human – and still be standing, a veritable Paul Bunyan who was running a chainsaw in the timber business at age 11, and was hired as a firefighter before he even finished high school. As a young man he never thought about going into law enforcement, but his superhero origin story is full of foreshadowing: as a teen he saved students and teachers from bullies, and even rescued a state trooper in a fight against a huge drunk. His career began in St. Pete, cleaning up a drug-ravaged housing complex, and plucking guns from rioters’ hands. When he came to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office he spent years taking down some of the county’s most violent offenders. He’s been mistaken for the bodyguard to the head of a notorious biker gang, caught an escaped inmate charged with murder, and may or may not have run over our SWAT Supervisor, Sergeant Brian Diebold. Meet the guy who has never lost a fight, but whose wife thinks he has a cushy desk job now that he’s a lieutenant. (Shh… don’t tell her!)
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In this episode we talk with PCSO’s answer to Bones – only better because she’s real! Dr. Meredith Tise is not only a forensic anthropologist, she’s also our Forensic Quality Assurance Coordinator, making sure that our Forensics Division is held to the highest standards. She started in a morgue as a teenager, and her work has taken her from the border to body farms as she perfected her knowledge early in her career. She was involved in the excavation at the Dozier School for Boys, uncovering the remains of children and young men who suffered under terrible conditions and died at that notorious facility. She has also helped bring lost WWII service members home, from a pilot who crashed in a dogfight in Germany, to hundreds of Marines killed on the tiny Pacific island of Tarawa. She’s our go-to expert for any unidentified bones found in the county – even if they’re more often pig knuckles from crab traps than evidence of a homicide. Hear about some of the most fascinating cases she’s worked here at PCSO and in her entire career.
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Suncoast Forensics
History Flight
In this episode we talk with possibly the happiest man in the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office: Sergeant Jimmy Fortner. He began his career in a super max prison where stabbings, overdoses, hangings, and attacks on guards were commonplace. Now he works at the Pinellas County Jail, which despite the best resources and training can still be fraught with danger. Jimmy is an imposing six-foot-six and 360 pounds but he says he’s never won a fight… even against a Little Person in the Mexican Mafia. Jimmy is a larger-than-life guy who does a lot for the agency, including riding in a helicopter while dressed as Santa. On this episode you’ll hear about how the jail helps psych inmates and the elderly, how to maintain mental health when you work in the jail… and what severed body part he’s had hurled at his chest.
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Mental Health For Heroes
In this episode we talk with the man himself, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri. It’s hard to believe he was once an innocent young rookie taking calls for noise complaints and trespass warnings, but those who have heard him call out, “Car 1, 10-50,” on his way home know he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Sheriff Gualtieri started out at the Pinellas County Jail and was an officer in Dunedin before joining the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy. Hear stories from his long stint in Narcotics, Find out why he left law enforcement for law school, and learn how he made his way back to PCSO. He’s an honorable man, motivated by a strong sense of right and wrong, respect for the truth, and contempt for bullies. He’s been in brawls, he’s been in pursuits, he’s arrested murderers… which makes him perfectly suited for fighting for law enforcement legislation in Tallahassee. Join us for an intimate conversation with the man who leads the 15th largest sheriff’s office in the country.
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In this episode we talk with SWAT Supervisor, Sergeant Brian Diebold, a man described by many as a tactical genius. A man who isn’t afraid of anything… except joining us on the podcast. Tune in to find out what he reveals about his long and varied career – and then tell us what he’s leaving out! After years of kicking in doors and catching murderers, Brian is now the guy who has to stay back by the Command Bus while his SWAT studs make entry. That’s hard for a man who has made more door entries than all of his current SWAT team combined. With a long litany of career-related injuries maybe he was almost ready to slow down… but his sudden promotion to sergeant took him from tackling bad guys to a desk job overnight. Funny, we still never see Brian behind a desk. Meet the guy who made the Chevy Suburban cool, and find out if SWAT is going to accept the bold challenge that Lieutenant Freddie Hayes and the Corrections Response Team threw down.
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In this episode we talk with Lieutenant Freddie Hayes who according to a reliable source is, pound for pound, the best at just about everything. Of course Freddie himself is the reliable source, but we haven’t found any evidence to contradict him yet. Whether it’s being locked in a pod alone with 80 inmates or wrangling a poop-covered intake, Freddie can do it all. He leads the Corrections Response Team (CRT) which handles the most dangerous situations in the jail. He also oversees the Honor Guard which stands watch over deputies who perish in the line of duty. And he can sing! But despite all this greatness Freddie is – pound for pound – the most humble and hardworking man you’ll meet. Oh, and he’s thrown down a challenge: CRT vs SWAT. Will next month’s SWAT guest pick up that challenge? Tune in and find out!
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In this episode we talk with Assistant Forensic Science Supervisor Rhonda Klein, the “Queen of the Meth Labs” who has processed some of the most interesting – and most disgusting – crime scenes imaginable. From hoarder houses to bodies so decomposed that they’re barely recognizable as human, Rhonda has seen it all. She initially trained as a deputy but later followed her first passion for Forensics – see if that early training prepared her for the moment she was trapped alone at a crime scene with a suspect who was hiding in a closet. You’ll find out if local meth labs are just like Breaking Bad, discover the worst smell in all of Forensics, and learn exactly what that was on the bottom of Rhonda’s boot after she left the crime scene… all on the latest episode of 56.
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The podcast currently has 17 episodes available.
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