Barancik Foundation grant helps pay for Longboat police project

Interim chief leads police department push to gain state accreditation, with financial help from group founded by Longboat Key couple killed in 2019 collision with officer.

By Mark Bergin
| 4:13 p.m. September 16, 2021

Longboat Key Interim Police Chief George Turner is helping lead the police department through its accreditation process with the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, which is a sect of the FDLE.

Longboat Key
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Longboat Key Interim Police Chief George Turner takes pride in his contributions to help law enforcement agencies get accredited -- even as the leader of a department for which he's not permanently responsible.

What they're looking for

A sampling of some of the standards and practices sought for examination by Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation

A written directive that regulates the types of off-duty employment in which agency members may or may not engage.
A written directive that requires that members receive copies of and are instructed in the agency’s use of force policy before they are authorized to carry lethal or less-lethal weapons.
A written directive describes the proper use of the following equipment during emergency and non-emergency situations: Emergency lights Sirens; Hazard warning lights; Spotlights, if equipped; and Public address systems, if equipped.
A written directive establishes an incident reporting system to include: Guidelines for when reports must be written; Forms to be used; Information required; Procedures for completing incident reports; Procedures for submitting and processing incident reports; and Documented supervisory review.
Access to evidence areas is controlled to prevent the alteration, unauthorized removal, theft, or other compromise of evidence stored by the agency and to maintain chain of custody.
The agency has a property records system which provides the following information: Current location of property; Date and time property was received/released; Description of the property; and Chain of custody from time of receipt until final disposition.
If an agency allows suspects, detainees, or prisoners to be secured in a designated area without continuous supervision by agency personnel, a written directive addresses the following: Authorization for the use of the room, space, or area; Member accountability; Separation of females, males, and juveniles; Authorized temporary restraint devices, including, if allowed, securing to fixed objects designed for such use; Access to water, restrooms, and other needs; Safety considerations for objects contained in the room Member contact at least every fifteen minutes; and Member training on the use of interview rooms.

“I have started working for departments that were not accredited, and every department that I’ve ever been in, by the time I left, they were accredited, some directly because of my desire,” Turner said.

Turner has more than 40 years of law enforcement, serving as Brooksville’s police chief from October 2007 through March 2018 and as a captain for the Longboat Key Police Department from December 2001 through October 2007. He was also a police captain from 1978-2000 in Ulster County, New York.

Since getting hired by the town in late April following Chief Kelli Smith's departure after six months, Turner plans to get the Longboat Key Police Department accredited, too. And a philanthropic organization founded by two Longboat Key residents killed in a collision in 2019 with a town police officer is making it possible.

“We should all be demanding that our law enforcement personnel are trained properly, are equipped properly and follow the law, don’t violate people’s rights and that we protect them,” Turner said. “Really, that’s what accreditation does.”

Accreditation helps a department establish and follow a series of detailed formal standards designed to increase capabilities, fight crime and reduce liability. The process is conducted by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation, which is a division of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

“They’ll send three assessors down, and they’ll go through our department with a fine-tooth comb,” Turner said.

In a three-day period, Turner said the assessors will examine the Longboat Key Police Department’s policies, speak with officers, inspect equipment and make sure proper procedures are followed when evidence is collected.

There are 264 standards part of the CFA’s Accreditation process, of which 156 are mandatory. Departments must comply with at least 80% of the remaining 108 standards to pass.

“It’s an expensive venture,” Turner said. “Our training budget would not support it alone. That would have had to been increased.”

Barancik Foundation grant

The financial need prompted the Barancik Foundation to award the town a grant of $274,850 over a three-year period. The town plans to apply the funding toward accreditation-related efforts, training, policy development and technology.

“We wanted to help the community that Chuck and Margie loved so much,” said Barancik Foundation President and CEO Teri Hansen. “They lived there for many, many years, and we felt it was appropriate to reach out and see how we could help.”

Margery and Charles Barancik died after a December 2019 traffic crash involving a Longboat Key police SUV. In their honor, the Barancik Foundation had donated a grant valued at $274,850 to the town.

Margery and Charles Barancik died in a December 2019 traffic crash involving a Longboat Key police SUV responding to a fire-alarm call on the south end of the island.

An investigation found Officer Jeffery Vogt's violated police department rules on speed 21 times between September 2019 and Dec. 18, 2019, the day the crash took place. The police SUV was going 84 mph just before the deadly crash, which was in violation of town police policies. He also was found to have turned off his police vehicle's video and speed recording equipment on other occasions.

Vogt was fired less than three months after the crash following an internal review.

“(The foundation was) reviewing what happened to them,” Hansen said. “How we could help to make sure something like that didn’t happen again and improve the lives of people on Longboat Key?”

The couple founded the Barancik Foundation in 2014. It is known across the Sarasota area as a generous philanthropic organization that helps fund education, humanitarian causes, arts and culture, the environment and medical research.

“That family is extraordinary,” Hansen said. “I think they each believe it will help the town of Longboat, the citizens of Longboat and perhaps avoid another accident like the one that took their parents.”

Next steps

The Longboat Key Police Department is in its self-assessment phase of accreditation, according to Turner.

“We are just about ready to sign with the state to start our two-year clock,” Turner said.

Plus, the town plans to hire an accreditation manager to help with the process.

“(The assessors) will say either we pass or we fail,” Turner said. “Failing is not an option. We will not fail.”

Turner was clear about his intentions when asked why he would lead the police department through the years-long accreditation process despite having an interim title as police chief.

“I’m very happy to be back in Longboat Key. I’d like to end my career here however long that is,” Turner said. “That is not up to me. That’s up to the town manager.”

Even if the town hires someone else to fill the full-time position of police chief, Turner said he wants to put that person in a good position.

“If the full-time position were to be offered to me, I would accept it,” Turner said.