Florida
Hurricane Helene leaves manatees stranded in Florida
Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said its teams are responding to reports of stranded manatees after Hurricane Helene ripped through the state last week.
Helene made landfall in Florida’s panhandle as a Category 4 storm last Tuesday night, bringing with it heavy rainfall, high winds and flooding that also struck other Southeastern states. As of Tuesday, the death toll from Helene had reached 159, the Associated Press reported, as search and rescue operations continue throughout hard-hit states.
The storm has also wreaked havoc on the wildlife caught in its path. The FWC said in a post to its social media accounts on Monday that its biologists were working to rescue manatees—a protected animal under Florida state law—that were beached.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
“Manatees can become stranded during rough weather conditions, such as a hurricane or tropical storm,” the FWC said Monday in a post on its Facebook page.
It added in its post, “While our top priority has been to help residents and visitors of Florida recover from the impacts of Helene, we are also working swiftly to rehabilitate and conserve these gentle giants.”
Images of rescued manatees were shared by the FWC on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday afternoon.
Manatees are native to Florida and inhabit rivers, springs and coastal areas throughout the state. The nonprofit Save the Manatee Club, based in Florida, said in a release to its website last week that it was working with its partners, including the FWC, to “actively” monitor the aftermath of Helene and its impact on the manatee population.
“As Florida natives, manatees are well-adapted to the extreme weather events in our state,” the release read in part. “However, they do face significant risk during powerful storms. Storm surges can cause manatees to go far inland to areas they would not normally inhabit, where they can become trapped when the water recedes.”
The FWC urged the public to not attempt to handle any stranded manatees and instead call the state’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-392 to alert officials of the animals’ location.
It added that “manatees stranded by storms may need immediate medical attention from wildlife experts.” Residents can report incidents of other injured wildlife to the Wildlife Alert Hotline or submit a report online through this link.
Newsweek reached out to the FWC for additional information via email on Tuesday.
The FWC was deployed over the weekend as part of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ Operation Blue Ridge, a multistate agency effort to assist recovery efforts in North Carolina and Tennessee, according to a release from the governor’s office Sunday.
The FWC wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday that Operation Blue Ridge “also aims to help Floridians needing rescue in Western North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Tennessee Valley.”
“FWC stands ready to continue assisting our neighbors as they recover from Hurricane Helene’s effects,” the post added.
Florida
‘The naughty list:’ Wrong tag leads to arrest of wanted Central Florida man
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A wanted Central Florida man was caught after deputies noticed that his car had a wrong tag, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
In a release on Wednesday, deputies said they initially spotted a car with a tag that didn’t belong on it.
“A little research showed (the driver) had an open warrant for occupied burglary,” the release reads. “He tried to accelerate and ram his way out of trouble, but that only led to more charges.”
Body-camera footage shows deputies confront and ultimately catch the driver, identified as 33-year-old Dillon Cottrell.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies also recovered a trafficking amount of fentanyl and other drugs.
Now, Cottrell faces charges of burglary, criminal mischief, fleeing law enforcement, trafficking in fentanyl, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, and obstructing law enforcement.
He is held without bond. His passenger, Kelli Jo Hands, was also arrested, deputies added.
“Both are still in jail and most likely spending Christmas there,” the release concludes.
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Florida
Grand Rapids police chief is candidate for Florida job: Eric Winstrom faced early trial
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Just weeks into his new job, Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom – sharing a small apartment with his wife and two children – was told that an officer was just involved in a shooting.
A former commander for Chicago Police Department, Winstrom had dealt with many shootings involving police.
Officer Christopher Schurr shot and killed Black motorist Patrick Lyoya after a Feb. 4, 2022, traffic stop. Schurr, a white officer, shot Lyoya in the back of the head.
Winstrom, who was named this week one of three finalists for police chief in Pensacola, Florida, recalled the tragedy in Grand Rapids in an MLive video 13 months after the killing.
He became chief in Grand Rapids on March 7, 2022.
He described the shooting as “just like a slap across the face and a wake-up call because I had been involved in so many of these difficult situations in Chicago. So I was like, ‘Oh, OK, I guess we’re doing this here so quick’ and it was I would say a progression of sadness.”
He met with Lyoya’s family in his office, “crying literally with them.” He knew that Schurr, who was ultimately acquitted by a Kent County jury of second-degree murder, and his family were devastated, too.
Winstrom fired Schurr after charges were filed.
He knew that his officers had strong feelings, with many supporting Schurr, who said he acted in self-defense when Lyoya gained control of his Taser.
Winstrom, who often responds to serious crime scenes, said: “I’ll say that this department – I’m sure everybody’s got their opinions – but from what I’ve seen they’ve handled it professionally … have not let it impact job performance at all which was something that I was really afraid of.”
That has happened in other U.S. cities after controversial police shootings. Lyoya’s supporters held many protests, particularly when the officer was on trial.
Windstrom said that calls to defund police can lead to a ‘mass exodus’ of officers, which data shows results in increasing violence in minority neighborhoods.
He said that “officers in Grand Rapids, whether they agree with my decision to fire Christopher or not, come to work every day. They just do a phenomenal, professional job. I’m really proud of them.”
Winstrom is a finalist for the Pensacola job with Brian Dugan, a former Tampa police chief, and Erik Goss, the acting deputy chief in Pensacola, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
The selection process will occur Jan. 12 to 14.
Winstrom declined an MLive request for comment on Wednesday, Dec. 24, but issued a statement the previous day.
He asked for patience while he considered what is best for him and his family. He said he will be “engaged here as ever” during the process and “I remain fully committed to ensuring the City of Grand Rapids is a community where people feel safe and are safe at all times.“
City Manager Mark Washington appointed Winstrom nearly four years ago knowing “that he was a highly qualified, top-tier professional in the field of public safety. While he hadn’t served as a Chief of Police, his potential was evident.”
Washington added: “Given the significant progress he has led within the Grand Rapids Police Department – specifically in advancing constitutional policing, enhancing transparency, and centering the department’s commitment to serve all residents – it is certainly not surprising that other communities would seek out his leadership and expertise.”
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