Flagler County, FL - The Flagler County Sheriff's Office (FCSO) says all of its volunteer C.O.P.'s (Citizens On Patrol) will now be armed with pepper spray for self-defense.
The new policy comes in response to a case that occurred earlier this month in Palm Coast, where a man, who was armed with a knife, tried to carjack a marked FCSO C.O.P. car and threatened one of the volunteer patrols. You can find more information on that story
here.
“Historically the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has never armed their C.O.P.'s,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly says. “But after what occurred earlier this month, we re-evaluated and decided it was time. Safety, above all, is our number one priority for our citizens and those who protect them. The hope is that our C.O.P.s never need to deploy the pepper spray- but should they find themselves in a situation that calls for it, they will be prepared.”
(Photos courtesy FCSO)
All FCSO C.O.P. volunteers were issued pepper spray, which is now standard for patrol volunteers, and they received training on how to use pepper spray at the FCSO Operations Center in Bunnell.
Featured photo courtesy Shutterstock and Siberian Photographer.
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