Friday, September 2, 2011
Deputies will be looking for impaired and aggressive drivers.
If you’re thinking about tipping a few cold ones back in honor of the long Labor Day weekend, be sure to stay off Pasco County’s roadways afterward. Law enforcement officers will be out looking for you if you don’t. “Hopefully everyone has a safe holiday and remembers to drive sober or get pulled over,” said Sgt. Art Rowand of the Pasco County Sheriff's Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, or STEP for short. STEP Unit members will be in the Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel areas throughout the long holiday weekend and beyond. The unit was created to target different areas of the county for impaired and aggressive driving. Deputies in the unit deputies operate a little differently than officers assigned to patrol. Rather than move from …
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Take a look at the top headlines for the week on Land O’ Lakes Patch.
You’ve been busy and so have we! Just in case you missed them, here’s a look at seven of our most popular stories this week:
Thursday, January 27, 2011
A look at the STEP Unit’s run by the numbers.
With more than 30 arrests and 150 citations written, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office’s STEP Unit was busy during its two-week run in the Land O’ Lakes area. The Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, or STEP Unit, for short patrolled the Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel areas Jan. 9-22. During that time, the deputies assigned to the unit made 31 arrests, wrote 157 citations and gave out 240 written warnings, Sgt. Art Rowand wrote in an e-mail. “(Thirty-one) people were arrested on the following charges: seven felony, 13 misdemeanor, five warrant, 17 criminal traffic and 16 DUI,” he wrote. “Four vehicles were seized for forfeiture due to being used in the commission of a felony.” The STEP Unit functions a little differently than patrol. …
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
A recent ride-along with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office served as an eye-opener about this detail’s mission.
Just because they ride around all night looking for speeders, aggressive drivers and impaired motorists, doesn’t mean the deputies assigned to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office’s Selective Traffic Enforcement Program really want to give people a hard time. In fact, according to Deputy Shane Metzler, prevention is more their focus. By being able to actively seek out people who are at an increased risk for being in or causing accidents, Metzler said he’s able to do something many others in law enforcement are unable to because of time constraints and the demands of a constant influx of calls. “I can deter the crime before it happens.” Metzler joined the sheriff’s office in 2006. He volunteered for the agency’s SWAT team in 2008 – a post he …
Monday, January 24, 2011
Get involved in Land O' Lakes Patch by asking your questions. We'll try to get them answered for you.
It's the start of a brand new week and Land O' Lakes Patch has plenty of stories in the works. Here are a few of the things we're looking into this week. We invite you to take part in the process by sharing the questions you'd like us to ask on stories such as:
Sunday, January 9, 2011
A special unit will hit local streets Jan. 9-22.
Motorists driving on roads in Land O’ Lakes may want to exercise a little more caution than normal in the coming days. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office plans to have extra deputies out in force. The STEP Unit, which stands for Selective Traffic Enforcement Program, is assigned to Land O’ Lakes and Wesley Chapel Jan. 9-22. This special unit involves a six-deputy team that scours roads throughout the county looking for impaired drivers, speeders and other potential hazards. It rotates its focus throughout the county, moving from trouble spot to trouble spot, said Sgt. Art Rowand. This is “in addition to regular patrol,” Rowand said. “If they (regular patrol) do locate an impaired driver they can call the STEP unit.” The unit generally …
Thomas Fish
8:26 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012
Deputy Shane Metzler is the biggest asshole i have ever met! to bad this story makes him look like a good guy.if i get access to the video of him pulling me over i will prove my point. more ›