Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office – Detention Deputyof the Year

Detention DeputyErnest Tony

Detention DeputyEarnest Tony has been assigned to Central Booking for 4 years, and he takes extreme pride in his work and his strong attention to detail is unmatched. DeputyTony has been directly responsible for 47 instances of found contraband.

On April 26, 2014, DeputyTony was conducting a preliminary search of an agitated handcuffed inmate in the safeTampa Police Department vestibule of Central Booking. The inmate continually complained of injuries while shifting his body about, hindering the search. DeputyTony did not allow the inmate’s tactics to distract him from his objective of completing a thorough search. DeputyTony’s search yielded a tactical sTampa Police Departmentle knife with a fixed open blade. Not known to DeputyTony at the time, the inmate was involved in a standoff with several deputies while armed with a firearm prior to his arrest. Given the inmate’s arrest information and agitation level, DeputyTony prevented a very dangerous situation from materializing.

On May 11, 2014, DeputyTony was assigned to the Booking Escort Post in Central Booking when he noticed an inmate being prepared for transfer to Falkenburg Road Jail with a foreign object concealed in his hair. Upon further inspection, DeputyTony discovered the inmate had concealed a large bag of marijuana inside his dreadlocks. The bag contained 10 grams of marijuana.

It can be argued that DeputyTony’s actions are a part of his normal job responsibilities and are expected. However, it is the consistently high level of performance demonstrated by DeputyTony that sets him apart from all others.