Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office
# Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office

The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office (SRSO) is the primary law enforcement agency of Santa Rosa County, Florida. Both the cities of Gulf Breeze and Milton operates their own LEOs (law enforcement organization); however, the sheriff's office operates the majority of law enforcement operations within Milton. SRSO is headed by a sheriff, who serves a four-year term and is elected in a partisan primary election.

## Offices & facilities

The main offices are in Milton. District offices are located in Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Pace, Milton, and Jay.

## Administration

Sheriff

* Current Sheriff: Bob Johnson.

Sheriff Bob Johnson has been employed with SRSO since 1993. He was elected as Sheriff in 2016 and sworn in on January 3, 2017. He is a longstanding member of the county's SWAT Team and formerly held the post of SWAT Team Commander. During his employment with the agency Bob has been the member of the following units: Major Crimes Detective, Narcotics Supervisor, D.A.R.E School Resource Officer, Juvenile Unit Supervisor, Patrol Corporal, Patrol Sergeant, Evening Shift Watch Commander, Navarre District Commander, Internal Affairs, Administrative Captain, Criminal Investigations Division Commander, Fleet Operations and Public Information Officer.

Chief Deputy

* Current Chief Deputy Sheriff: Joe McCurdy

Joe McCurdy was appointed as Chief Deputy Sheriff on June 9, 2018.

Command Staff: Assistant Chief Shane Tucker, Colonel Randy Tifft, Major Chris Watson, Major Douglas Bringmans

Administration Staff:

Patrol Division: Captain Jason Erlemann Investigative Division: Captain Blevin Davis/Lieutenant Scott Jones Professional Standards: Captain Wayne Enterkin Administration: Captain Scott Haines Public Information Officer: Sgt. Rich Aloy

District Field Offices:

District One - Gulf Breeze Area: District Two - Navarre Area: District Three - Pace Area: District Four - East Milton Area: District Five - Jay Area :

SRSO Units (in abc order)

- Court Security - Crime Analysis - Crime Scene - Field Training - Honor Guard - K-9 Unit - Major Crimes - Marine / Dive - Media Relations - Narcotics - SWAT - Traffic

### Rank structure

| Rank Title | Information |
| - | - |
| Sheriff | Elected official and commander of the SRCSO. |
| Chief Deputy | Second-in-command of the SRCSO and responsible for day-to-day operations. |
| Assistant Chief Deputy | Third-in-command of the SRCSO. |
| Colonel | Commander of Detentions and Operations. |
| Major | Commander of a Bureau. |
| Captain | Commander of a Division. |
| Lieutenant | Commander of a District or Unit. |
| Sergeant | Commander of a shift or Squad. |
| Deputy | |

## Services Provided for Citizens

* Citizens' Law Enforcement Academy
* Volunteer Program
* Civilian Observer ( please see website for requirements )
* Citizen's Firearm Safety
* Crime prevention strategies
* Crime Stoppers
* Victim Assistance Program
* Explorer Program
* Fingerprint services
* "Know The Law" booklet
* ID Theft booklet

## History

### List of SRSO Sheriffs

* William Washington Harrison 1845-1849
* James R. Mims 1849-1851
* Isaiah Cobb, Jr. 1851-1855, 1860-1861
* James C. McArthur 1855-1859
* James Milton Amos 1861-1863
* John L. McLellan 1863-1865
* Abraham.B. Dixon 1865-1867
* John W. Butler 1874-1878
* Wiliam Adam C. Benbow 1878-1881
* William Jackson 1881-1893
* John Houston Collins 1893-1897, 1909-1913
* David Mitchell 1897-1909
* John H. Harvell 1913-1921
* Henry Clay Mitchell 1921-1933
* Joseph T. Allen Sr. 1933-1945
* Marshall Rufus Hayes 1945-1957
* Bart Dell Broxson 1957-1959
* Annie Rachel Gordon Broxson 1959-1959
* John Ray Broxson 1959-1961
* Wade H. Cobb Sr. 1961-1968
* Leon Hinote Jr. 1968-1972
* Harvell Enfinger 1972-1981
* James A. Powell Sr. 1981-1985
* Elwyn Mauriece Coffman Jr. 1985-1992
* James F. Coats 1992-1992
* Jerry D. Brown 1992-2000
* Wendell Hall 2000–2016
* Bob Johnson 2016–Present

### Television

The sheriff's office has a television show, hosted by Sheriff Johnson and Sgt. Rich Aloy on Blab TV, entitled "INSIDE SRSO". It is broadcast on Blab TV (Cox Channel 1006).

## Postcard-only policy

In 2010, Sheriff Wendell Hall instituted a policy that prohibited inmates from sending mail in enclosed envelopes, with the exception of privileged and legal mail. All regular correspondence was required to be done by postcard. An inmate at the jail named Marcie Hamilton filed suit against the sheriff on behalf of the class of inmates at the jail, arguing the policy violated their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution. The Sheriff rescinded this policy just before the suit went to trial, and the parties settled in February 2012.

