By Cpl. Jack Nash
PIO OCSO
OKEECHOBEE —Sheriff Noel E. Stephen, Police Chief Donald Hagan, and Fire Chief Earl Wooten rolled out a program that will save lives and assist the public and all of Okeechobee's Emergency Services.
At the Florida Sheriff's conference, Sheriff Stephen learned about a traffic crash in Santa Rosa County.
During that crash, an autistic occupant became extremely upset. Due to the other passengers being cared for due to the crash, no one could convey that the man was autistic.
The man subsequently was involved in a "use of force" until the deputies realized he was autistic. Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson wanted to ensure this incident did not happen again.
Sheriff Johnson and his administration started the S.A.F.E. program that voluntarily identifies anyone with physical or cognitive issues that would affect them during an interaction with Law Enforcement.
Sheriff Stephen was intrigued and saw the obvious benefits for everyone on this program and had his command reach out to Santa-Rosa S.O. for more information.
Sheriff Stephen enlisted the help of Chief Hagan and Chief Wooten to spread this message and the responsibility of training staff members and the public about the program that starts TODAY, April 24, 2023.
How does S.A.F.E. work?
Pick up a brochure at the Sheriff's Office, Police Department, or Fire Rescues main office (Emergency Management). Inside the brochure is a Q.R. code that can be scanned and printed.
Once that paperwork is returned to one of these agencies, receive a S.A.F.E. sticker for a vehicle and home; this sticker will identify someone within the vehicle or home as someone that " May Not Respond As Expected."
Along with the sticker, the computer system that all three entities share will automatically tell our communications specialists that someone in the vehicle or home responders will be in the S.A.F.E. program.
As this program catches speed, we hope to see other Sheriffs from around Florida adopt this program as we did.
Again, this program is for persons with mental or physical conditions from Autistic, Alzheimer's, Dementia, Down Syndrome, etc. Additionally, any physical limitations such as loss of limbs, deaf, blind, or mobility impaired that would cause them NOT to respond as requested or have the ability to communicate as others do in any circumstance there is an emergency, and time is of the essence.
For questions, feel free to call each office P.I.O. or Community Liaison for more information; our numbers at 863-763-3117 Ext 5018 or Ext. 5028, and we are located at 504 NW 4th St., Okeechobee, Florida
