SHARE:  

December 17, 2024

Armorers Keep Deputies’ Guns

Working Smoothly 

by Laura L. Sullivan, Public Relations Specialist

When Corporal Matthew Seymour’s phone rings at 2:00 a.m., it’s usually the Canine Unit’s fault. “I hate to say it because they have the hardest jobs in the agency, but they’re our biggest problem.” Seymour, who works in the Training Unit, is also an armorer for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). As such he is responsible for the functionality of every firearm our deputies carry. Our K-9s will happily follow suspects through creeks, swamps, and lakes, and where the dogs go, the handlers follow – along with all of their equipment. “They’ll come in here completely drenched, covered head to toe in muck.” There’s water and mud in every crevice, including in their firearm. “When a call starts with K3 went into the water I know it’s going to take at least an hour or two to clean them up.” 


There’s an armorer on call 24 hours a day for situations like that. A deputy always needs a functioning service weapon so if anything gets damaged, even in the middle of the night, an armorer has to respond to either fix the problem or issue a new firearm. 


When K-9 deputies aren’t running through swamps, the armorers have plenty to keep them busy. Every year, each deputy has to qualify in every firearm they carry. Before they do this, they have to turn in each one for inspection. That amounts to a lot of weapons to check. Patrol deputies are issued a Glock 21, a rifle, and Taser, and might also have a shotgun. Some deputies have a lot more than that though. They could be authorized to carry an approved personally owned alternative firearm as their primary or backup weapon, or have weapons specific to their position. 


“The ones who have multiple are usually in a specialized unit, not your standard patrol deputy,” Corporal Seymour said. “It might be your Narcotics guys, or the Tactical Investigations Unit. SWAT may have their duty Glock 21, their SWAT gun which is usually a 9 mm with an optic, and then they have an off duty gun as well.” A detective who usually wears a suit instead of a uniform with a sturdy duty belt might carry a smaller gun more suitable to their clothes. All of these guns have to be inspected each year.


“We check and verify the serial numbers, and then we do preventative maintenance and inspection,” he said. “We check all of the moving parts – springs, levers, buttons – to make sure everything is lubricated properly and no parts have to be replaced or repaired. If there are electronics, like in optics, we make sure the batteries are good. Then the member collects their weapons and goes to the range to qualify.”


One thing they don’t do during the annual inspections is thoroughly clean the gun. They’ll clean the parts that a deputy isn’t allowed to access, but as for the rest, that falls on the deputy. Corporal Seymour said that recruits are all taught how to disassemble, clean, and maintain their weapons, and are expected to take care of them. They are allowed to disassemble their handgun into the four basic parts, but only an armorer can break it down any farther. “We will make sure that all the crevices deep inside are clean, because that’s something they can’t get to.” 


Some units face unique challenges in keeping their gear clean. No matter how well they clean their firearm, the saltwater that our Marine and Environmental Lands Unit deputies encounter can damage their gun. They’re given special cleaning supplies and encouraged to clean their firearms more often. If the gun is ever completely submerged in salt water, though, the armorer would have to take it completely apart.


Other equipment like handcuffs is checked during line inspections by the deputy’s sergeant, not by the armorer. The armorers focus on firearms, but they will also look at the less lethal weapons such as Tasers, beanbag shotguns, and pepper ball launchers. Corporal Seymour doesn’t enjoy working with the pepper ball launchers, which use compressed gas to fire an irritating projectile. “I fix things that explode, but these are all O-rings and air.”


It's very rare for a deputy to fire their weapon in the line of duty, but Corporal Seymour says deputies have the opportunity to do plenty of training at the range. “I’d say we train more than most other agencies in the state,” he said. “The sheriff offers more open range time and more firearm training time than anybody else. Some agencies require members to buy their own ammunition to practice, but the sheriff says no, come to open range day and shoot.” PCSO deputies keep their skills sharp and their weapons ready to keep the community safe. 


Ride and Run Returns

Despite Hurricane Damage 

by Laura L. Sullivan, Public Relations Specialist

Despite some difficulties caused by back-to-back storms, Ride and Run With The Stars continued for its 31st year. As the largest local law enforcement-sponsored holiday fundraiser, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) event raises money for the Sheriff’s Christmas Sharing Project, which helps make sure that children in need have a joyous holiday. 


Ride and Run almost didn’t happen this year, said Sandra Garcia-Olivares, Victim Advocate and one of the lead organizers. “Because of the storms there was damage to Fort De Soto, so we didn’t know until the last minute if we would be able to have the event.” On the day of the event, the park was still officially closed, but the county opened it solely for race participants. “There was some damage, but we made it work.” Bathrooms were damaged, and one section of the bike race had to be rerouted, but the event was a success, raising more than $75,000 to help families in need.


Ride and Run With The Stars is held every year on the first Saturday in December at Fort De Soto Park’s North Beach. It includes something for all ages and abilities – a 5K chipped race, a 1-mile fun run, walk, or skate, a 25-mile bike ride, and a 10K family bike ride. Families at the event were also treated to a K-9 demonstration, and kids got presents from Santa and Mrs. Claus, who arrived in a helicopter. 


Throughout the year, PCSO Victim Advocates and deputies keep an eye out for families who could use a little help. Some of them have been victims of crime, while others have been touched by economic hardship. Recommendations come from Community Policing deputies, School Resource Officers, Victim Advocates, the Judicial Operations Bureau, Pinellas PAL, and school crossing guards – anyone who is in a position to see that a child is in need. Victim Advocates might be helping a young victim of abuse whose abuser had been the family’s primary wage earner. Now the child is safe and the perpetrator is behind bars, but the family is suffering economic hardship. Or PAL staff might know a family in Lealman that is struggling to make ends meet.


About 125 kids were adopted by businesses, churches, PCSO members, or PCSO units. They receive the children’s wish lists and buy Christmas gifts for them. School crossing guards identified one child with unique needs who was helped this holiday season. “The child has a disability that prevents them from riding a two-wheeled bike to school like their siblings. They can only ride an adult three-wheeled bike, and those are very expensive.” Garcia-Olivares was able to reach out to Forensics supervisors, who decided to adopt him and buy him the bike for Christmas. “His mom says that will allow him to feel more normal, and bike to school just like his siblings.”


There was once common thread to the majority of the people who needed help. “This year, most families who asked for assistance did so because they had suffered some kind of hurricane damage,” Garcia-Olivares said. Some have had a complete loss, while others have been displaced and they’re in a hotel or with friends or relatives.”


Garcia-Olivares said one of the families they’re helping this year consists of a grandmother taking care of several grandchildren. “Her children have alcohol and drug issues, and she didn’t want the kids to go into foster care. This is a woman who is elderly and on dialysis. She has a hole in her roof from the storm and she’s still living in that home. She was so thankful for the holiday meals we provided, and grateful that her grandchildren will have a Christmas this year.”


Both sponsorship and participation were down a little bit this year, which is understandable – a lot of people and businesses were affected by the two hurricanes. Nonetheless, Garcia-Olivares says this has been a year of thanks. “We’re all counting our blessings. People have just been so kind. 


PCSO members love taking part in Ride and Run With The Stars, and the Christmas Shopping Day when dozens of members go to Walmart before it opens to buy presents and necessities for the kids with the proceeds raised by the event. “Ride and Run gives people an opportunity to see law enforcement in a different light. It makes them human. I think sometimes people forget that. We all have feelings and losses and struggles, we’ve all suffered through the hurricanes, but holding Ride and Run this year provided some normalcy. It was good for us as a team, for us to be able to come together and realize how blessed we truly are.” 


Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  Linkedin  Youtube