Gainesville Police Department Gives Quarterly Update to City Commissioners
The Gainesville Police Department (GPD) gave their October 2024 - December 2024 quarterly update at the Gainesville City Commission meeting on Thursday.
GPD Chief Nelson Moya and Mayor Harvey Ward were absent from the meeting. Chief Inspector Jamie Kurnick and Commissioner/Mayor Pro Tempore Bryan Eastman stepped in to fulfill their respective roles.
Kurnick said GPD’s mission in 2025 will be the same as its mission in 2024: violent crime reduction, traffic safety, homeless outreach efforts, and recruitment.
Kurnick gave an update on violent and property crime statistics in Gainesville.
From October 1 to December 31, 2024, there were zero homicides, 19 rapes, 41 robberies, and 143 cases of aggravated assault. For property crimes, there were 93 auto thefts, 122 burglaries, and 867 cases of larceny.
GPD recovered 70 firearms and had 29 reports of stolen firearms throughout the quarter, with 15 of them being stolen out of vehicles.
GPD received 25 reports of shots fired, the same number as the previous quarter.
The number of people shot in Gainesville saw a slight decrease compared to the previous quarter, going from eight to five.
Suicides saw an increase towards the end of the year with seven in this quarter compared to three in the previous quarter. There were a total of 22 suicides in Gainesville in 2024, decreasing by two compared to 2023.
GPD saw a 10% or more decrease in all gun crimes in 2024 compared to 2023.
In 2024, GPD arrested 46 people for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, in addition to eight children who possessed firearms after being adjudicated in juvenile court.
Kurnick showed a map of Gainesville with markers indicating the locations of gunfire.
GPD Captain Paris Owens informed the commissioners of the total number of active cases being investigated by GPD detectives.
The Major Crimes A Squad handles robberies, homicides, and other violent crimes. The unit has one sergeant and five detectives and has 154 active cases.
The Major Crimes B Squad handles child abuse, sex offenses, and domestic battery cases. The unit has one sergeant and four detectives and has 114 active cases.
The Property Crimes Squad handles burglary and grand theft cases. The unit has one sergeant and three detectives and has 151 active cases.
The Special Operations Unit focuses on fraud cases, with a sergeant, detective, and civilian investigator. The unit has 1,290 active cases.
The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) division employs one sergeant, one detective, and one civilian online forensics specialist. The unit has 64 active cases.
Eastman said he prefers seeing broader crime statistics over individual cases like Owens had shown in previous quarterly updates. Eastman said, “Every time I see the folks up there—they are people who have been currently arrested but have not been adjudicated guilty at the time when that comes forward. I’d prefer to see the overall [statistics] of where we are.”
Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut asked Owens if it was “normal” to have over 100 active cases per unit.
Owens responded, “This is actually normal. This is our new norm because in the past we had a lot of detectives who worked upstairs. Our focus right now is to make sure our operations division is getting all the people they need. We are doing our part…. They don’t complain; they just get the work done as they’re asked. Sometimes we have to kind of interfere with their current investigations when something comes up that takes priority. They never complain, and that's the one thing I love about them. I refer to them as the best of the best. I’ll pit them against any detective in the U.S. because they’re just that good.”
Owens said GPD wanted to highlight at least one case and informed the commission of their work to arrest Forrest Pemberton after he allegedly planned to attack a facility owned by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). "This gentleman, Forest Pemberton, we got a 911 call from his father, who was concerned because [his son] had left a note. He is anti-government and anti-establishment. [Pemberton] had traveled to Plantation, Florida, where he scoped out a pro-Israeli organization and decided to conduct a terrorist attack on that organization. However, the attack was thwarted because no one was there. Thank goodness that didn’t happen. What ended up happening was he ended up stealing a vehicle to return to Tallahassee. Through some geo-locator and ride-sharing information, we were able to trace him to a hotel in Tallahassee [with] a risk protection order. City Attorney [Daniel] Nee was involved in [issuing] that…. We were able to have him arrested in Tallahassee, brought back here, and interviewed. During questioning, he admitted to what he was going to do. [With] that risk protection order, we were able to get several guns that his family turned over to us. He had some guns on him while he was in Tallahassee. This case involved multiple jurisdictions and agencies, and the cooperation from everyone was outstanding… He was turned over to federal custody, where he resides at this time.”
Captain Victoria Young announced that GPD has 87 patrol officers in their Operations Division who responded to a total of 92,339 service calls in 2024.
Young said the roof at the Regional Transit System (RTS) bus station on SW Archer Rd “provides some pretty good shelter.” Young said, “A lot of times you'll have people hanging out there. When we were coming up [there we saw] bags and debris, some things that clearly belong to someone, so [we’ve been] clearing those things out, getting those bus stops properly posted to indicate that they are only for people who are using the RTS bus terminal or the bus [for] transportation…. and not for shelter or storage, and then getting those cleaned up. You can see the before and after.”
Young said, “We’re still doing work to make sure we’re maintaining the Lynch Park area [and] SE 4th Pl. The CMC is in the far right picture. [The pictures show] different times of the day and what happens there, the items that are left, and the people sometimes staying…. Lt. Cardwell has been very active down there with the [Downtown] Ambassadors to make contact with individuals. A lot of it has been education, whether they agree with it or not…. New laws and city ordinances and what can and can’t be allowed in those areas. I’m really looking forward to working with some of the businesses and community partners to better understand how we can work together to alleviate what I believe they sometimes see as an inconvenience to them.”
Young shared statistics from the GPD-Meridian Healthcare Co-Responder Team and announced they would be participating in the 2025 National Co-Responder Conference.
Kurnick announced that GPD received 457 applications in 2024, doubling their numbers compared to the previous year due to the city commission increasing officer starting pay by 20%. GPD has been promoting recruitment for officer positions with a $60,000 starting salary and a $11,000 sign-on bonus.
Kurnick said GPD has built a team for recruitment that has attended job fairs in Tallahassee, Miami, and several colleges and police academies.
34 officers were hired in 2024, and five failed out of the field training program.
GPD currently has eight officers in their field training program, six recruits in their police academy, ten recruits set to begin police academy training in March, and five applicants with conditional job offers.
Kurnick has set a goal of hiring 39 new officers in 2025.
Kurnick wrapped up the quarterly update with sworn awards.
Officer Benjamin Mullins and Officer William Schaeffer both received the Officer of the Month award in September 2024.
Mullins was awarded for getting into a foot chase with a sex offender who wasn’t registered and arresting him.
Schaeffer was awarded for catching a car thief and getting him to confess.
Officer Dustin Johnson received the October 2024 Officer of the Month award.
Johnson was awarded for arresting a convicted felon who had a firearm.
Officer John Adna received the November 2024 Officer of the Month award.
Adna was awarded for arresting a stabbing suspect.
Officer Justin Snitselaar received the December 2024 Officer of the Month award.
Snitselaar was awarded for apprehending a suspect who had a firearm.
Commissioner Desmond Duncan-Walker told Kurnick “I love the fact that the Gainesville Police Department recognizes and doesn't even try to do it alone. I greatly appreciate that you sent the community and pulled them into every part of the process. I think that is truly helping to make a difference. It is increasing a level of trust, and certainly, I always like to hear that. I certainly didn't want to let this presentation close out without you hearing from my mouth to your ear that I appreciate you. I appreciate the work that's being done.”
Commissioner Desmond Duncan-Walker thanked Chief Inspector Jamie Kurnick and the Gainesville Police Department (video cred. gnvinfo)
