PEOPLE TO WATCH: Donald Fleming

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

The man who is charged with keeping Flagler County safe is up for re-election in 2012.

Donald William Fleming
Age: 66
Family: wife, Stephanie; three children
Title: Flagler County Sheriff
Quirky fact: President Ronald Reagan once bought him a cup of coffee.

From dealing with domestic violence cases, drunk drivers and armed robberies, deputies from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office have plenty of stress on the job. And Sheriff Donald Fleming knows all about it. As a police officer in the 1980s and 1990s in New Jersey, he worked on similarly gritty cases, as well as wild situations he could never have prepared himself for when he woke up that morning, such as helping to deliver a baby on the steps of an apartment building.

That’s why stress relief is important to Fleming. “I’ve always had a devilish side to me,” he said last month in his office, as he was being interviewed as one of the Palm Coast Observer’s People to Watch in 2012.

That devilish side manifests itself occasionally in practical jokes. Once, he conspired with Human Resources Director Karen Bivone to turn a vacationing deputy’s office upside down and wrap it with caution tape, as if it were a crime scene. The deputy was more than surprised when he found his desk tipped on its end and covered in plastic wrap upon his return.

“We all get along,” Fleming said. “You have to have fun because of what the deputies face every day. … We have our happy moments and our sad moments.”

One sad moment this year was the death of Sgt. Frank Celico, which sent a shock wave through the agency.

Personally for Fleming, another such moment in 2011 was when the continuing troubles with his own son resulted in a drug-related arrest.

“I’ve seen so many people, not only here but all over the place, who have kids who have died from overdoses,” Fleming said. “I have a lunch date with a friend of mine — his daughter died of an overdose. It’s an everyday challenge.”

The nature of the job has the potential to erode morale in the agency, and Fleming, who is up for re-election in 2012, said he has worked to make sure his officers are serving the public in the best way possible. As the man responsible for safety on Flagler County streets, as well as for ensuring the deputies act honorably while on duty, Fleming is one of the most influential people in the county.

He sets out to accomplish his mission, beginning with having the command staff stay on top of their training. Three majors and one lieutenant have graduated from the three-month FBI National Academy; others have completed the Southern Police Institute.

The deputies also are heavily trained.

“People’s perception of law enforcement is what deputies do on the street,” he said. “When you get stopped, you may or may not get a ticket, but you see how he treated you. Was he polite? Did he explain what you did? They’re citizens. I want them to be treated with dignity and respect every time. When you do that, you get it back.”

Each new recruit, regardless of previous training or certificates, completes a 40-hour classroom training on how to act in the field.

“We go through high speed pursuits, we have them all Tasered and pepper sprayed, to learn why we do it,” he said. “We go through defensive tactics. Then they go through the field training officer. New recruits don’t go on the street by themselves for four to six months.”

As with any public official, Fleming has to then deal with the court of public opinion. When Michael Testa escaped from the back of a patrol car after he had already been arrested in December, the agency was criticized. Fleming said the car was new and didn’t have the appropriate locks on it yet. But, that doesn’t mean the deputy should be criticized, he said.

“Joe Costello is probably the best street cop I have,” he said. “I’d put that kid up against anybody.”

In the end, Fleming said, the training and the professionalism of his deputies are on par with what they should be, and he’s always trying to improve the agency — and keep his deputies happy, as well.

“It’s a profession that is self-rewarding,” Fleming said. “It’s sad at times — you have people die. Sometimes, I’ve had to let people go. It’s a tough responsibility. I always try to stress that your family is No. 1. When you’re working, you do the best job you can do, you project yourself as a professional, and people will look at you as a professional.”