56: A Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Podcast

Podcast episodes

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  #22 "Snooki" - Corporal Justin Fineberg

  #22 "Snooki" - Corporal Justin Fineberg

  E22

  Mar 25, 2025

  01:36:08

  Snooki, Tigger… Corporal Justin Fineberg is a man of many names but a singular purpose: to get the bad guys so victims can sleep peacefully at night. His hometown of Boston almost got to keep him, but when color-blindness disqualified him up there, he succumbed to the lure of our snow-free winters and joined PCSO. Now he’s a member of the K-9 unit and along with his dog Beau (“because he’s handsome like his daddy”) he’s apprehending some of the worst offenders in the county. He’s also one of the unit’s trainers, and knows how to get inside the heads of some of the most intense dogs you’ve ever met. One of the hardest things for a new handler to learn is how to find their voice – their praise voice that is. When the dog does what he’s supposed to, a handler has to give him positive reinforcement by getting goofy and talking in a high-pitched funny way. Your tail might wag too if Corporal Fineberg praises you in his special voice. Tune in to this episode of 56 to go fishing with K-9s, explore the jungles of Pinellas, fall down a hole in the darkness, and find out how someone goes from being one of the boys to a true leader.

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  #21 - "Shoe-Leather Policing" - Chief Deputy David Danzig

  #21 - "Shoe-Leather Policing" - Chief Deputy David Danzig

  E21

  Feb 11, 2025

  01:59:12

  Talk about rising through the ranks! Chief Deputy David Danzig is the number-two man at PCSO, second only to Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, and has done just about everything at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). Coming from a law enforcement family, he knew he wanted to be a cop practically since he was a baby. In fact, his reward for potty training was a ride in cruiser running lights and sirens. From his first arrest (charge: Cat Running at Large) to his first week as the new chief, he’s never had a bad day at work. Despite the many challenges of law enforcement, he has always loved his job, whether he was working in the Marine unit where he saved lives with the right combination of “skillset and guts” or leading the Violent Crimes Task Force that reduced homicides and gun crimes in the county. It’s a peculiarity of law enforcement that as you rise through the ranks, once you get comfortable somewhere they move you somewhere else. But Chief Danzig thrived wherever he went because of a collaborative leadership style and a willingness to learn. In this episode, we talk about Chief Danzig’s career, and why he thinks the resiliency, strength, knowledge, and training of today’s PCSO deputies makes them the greatest generation of law enforcement officers. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

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  #20 "Nips & Bubblers" - Detective Jason Plumb

  #20 "Nips & Bubblers" - Detective Jason Plumb

  E20

  Jan 10, 2025

  02:04:21

  In this episode we talk with Detective Jason Plumb, who has spent a lifetime saving lives, first as a paramedic, then as an officer in the insanely busy Rochester, New Hampshire PD. A chance meeting with some PCSO deputies made him think the grass might be greener down here. It certainly was – and not just because it wasn’t covered in snow half the year. He liked it so much he even brought five of his friends down from his former agency. How’s that for recruiting? Since joining us, he’s had his share of adventures, including being a lead car in one of the most famous pursuits our agency ever had. Now he works in the innovative Mass Casualty Planning Unit. Hear about the work he’s doing to make private schools safer and get our entire county ready to deal with an active shooter, natural disaster, large-scale accident, or any other mass casualty event. Plus find out if nips and bubblers means what you think it means. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

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  #19 "The World's Most Uninteresting Man" - Deputy Chuck Skipper

  #19 "The World's Most Uninteresting Man" - Deputy Chuck Skipper

  E19

  Sep 10, 2024

  01:57:55

  In this episode we talked with “the world's most uninteresting man,” Deputy Chuck Skipper with the Crime Prevention and Community Awareness Unit. If you’ve seen some of our creative safety videos, Chuck’s face is a familiar one and you know he’s anything but uninteresting. He has a passion for crime prevention and will do almost anything on camera for the sake of good messaging, but there’s so much more to Chuck than that. He shares his humble beginnings in the wings of the Marion County Jail where he encountered some of Florida’s most notorious serial killers and discusses the realities of working the road in a rural county – where backup is seemingly hours away when you’re in a fight surrounded by extremely dangerous poultry. You’ll learn about his PCSO experience investigating often gruesome crashes, traffic enforcement from the air, the latest scams ravaging vulnerable populations, and all things crime prevention...all on the latest episode of 56. Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website

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  #18 "X3 the Channel" - April Bonnemann

  #18 "X3 the Channel" - April Bonnemann

  E18

  Aug 7, 2024

  01:29:59

  In this episode we talk with Assistant Communications Center Shift Supervisor April Bonnemann, whose world moves at a mile a minute as she gives deputies the crucial information that keeps them safe in their dangerous job. She might not be on-scene, but she still gets all the stories, from the man who caught an alligator in the bedroom with his wife, to the hopeful Romeo who stole a semi-truck to pick his lady friend up when she was released from the jail. Just how do you stop a fleeing car hauler anyway? For a dispatcher, there’s never a break – she once managed three separate overlapping stolen vehicle calls at once – and now as a supervisor she’s not just responsible for one radio channel, but for all of the activity in the comm center. There’s a lot more going on than you might think when you place that 911 call! Email us your questions and suggestions at lets56@pcsonet.com Follow PCSO: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Follow 56: Instagram PCSO Website Mental Health For Heroes