Crime & Safety

OMG PD: Cop and Firefighter Impersonated; Patient Assaults Nurse; Sinkhole Swallows Man

We compile the odd, unusual 'oh my gosh' police items from throughout the Tampa Bay region.

Temple Terrace Police Charge Man With Impersonating Officer

A Temple Terrace man claiming to be a reserve deputy has been arrested by the Temple Terrace Police Department for impersonating an officer.

Police became suspicious of Daniel Rangel Jr., 22 of Tampa, after he seemed uncertain of jurisdictional boundary when he spoke with police. Rangel Jr. is a member of the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office Volunteer Citizen Patrol Program. 

Man Charged With Posing as St. Pete Firefighter at All Children's

St. Petersburg Police have arrested and charged 22-year-old Robert Spalla with impersonating a St. Pete Fire & Rescue firefighter.

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Police say starting in November 2012, when one of his family members was in All Children's Hospital, he began to pose as a firefighter at the hospital.

Spalla would be seen wearing jumpsuits or T-shirt with "fire department type logos" on them, according to authorities. He claimed that he worked for the St. Petersburg Fire Department for the last five years.

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A Palm Harbor man has been charged with battery after he allegedly hit a registered nurse at Countryside Hospital and told him, "I will kill you," authorities said.

According to affidavits, 54-year-old Manuel Arosemena was at the hospital being treated after suffering injuries from a fall when he became "irate" at the nurse. 

Police: First-Grader Culprit of 911 Hoax Call at Belleair Elementary

Clearwater Police have identified a 7-year-old first-grade student as the culprit of a hoax 911 call Tuesday that temporarily put Belleair Elementary School on lockdown.

According to police, the 911 caller told police about a gun and shots fired at the school. After investigating, police determined it was a hoax.

Firing Sparks Attack With Hammer

A Wesley Chapel man was arrested and accused of hitting someone in the head with a hammer.

A man went to the construction site at 1350 Halapa Lane in Trinity on Dec. 12 to fire William Jordan and another worker, according to an arrest report from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.  

Florida Man Charged For Grand Cattle Theft

Manatee County Sheriff's Office received a different cow tip call then what they were used to, leading to charging a Myakka City man for stealing cattle.

The sheriff's office on Wednesday arrested and charged Daniel May, 27 of 44300 SR64 E. Myakka City, with grand theft, and Polk County  law enforcement are charging May with seven counts of dealing in stolen property, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

Sinkhole Swallows Seffner Man Sleeping In Bed

A Seffner man is presumed dead after he was swallowed by a sinkhole Thursday night, Feb. 28.

Jeffrey Bush, 36, was asleep in bed around 11 p.m. when the ground opened up beneath his home at 240 Faithway Dr., Seffner, and swallowed him, said Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokesman Larry McKinnon.


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