Coral Springs Recognizes 2021 Police Department Employees of the Year

Coral Springs Police recognizes 2021 employees of the year. Pictured L to R: Captain George Soberon, Deputy Chief Shawn Backer, Sergeant Sean Murray, Detective Frank Randazzo, IT Specialist David Rose, Captain Brad Mock, and Captain Gerald Irwin. {City of Coral Springs}

By Bryan Boggiano

The Coral Springs City Commission honored three police officers on Wed., June 1, for being named Employee of the Year in three different sectors of the police department.

They recognized the Coral Springs Police Department supervisor, officer, and civilian of the year for 2021.

The department named Sergeant Sean Murray, a department member since 2008, as Supervisor of the Year.

According to a city document, Murray serves as supervisor of the Burglary Enforcement and Reduction (BEAR) unit, which investigates cars, houses, businesses, and residential properties.

The BEAR Unit is also skilled in surveillance, vehicle suppression, and arrest tactics. Their work eliminates the need for high-speed chases and helps apprehend suspects in high-profile crimes such as homicides.

Murray also helped his colleagues in the field. Since the BEAR unit work presents challenges to work-family balance for some members, Murray would respond to all callouts, working overnight, on weekends, and on his days off.

Under his supervision, in 2021, the BEAR unit reported a 27 percent decrease in auto thefts, 28 percent fewer vehicle burglaries, and 22 percent fewer residential burglaries compared to 2020. In August 2021, there were no residential burglaries reported.

Murray is also a member of the SWAT Team and trains new SWAT employees on how to operate vehicles. In addition to this, he is a trained explosive breacher.

Detective Frank Randazzo, a 17-year member of the police department, received the honor of Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. Randazzo currently serves on the Crimes Against Persons (CAP) unit.

In two separate aggravated assault cases, Randazzo searched for evidence when the cases were going cold. Because of evidence he discovered, he identified suspects, and they were later charged.

Randazzo also led an investigation into the death of a woman who fatally overdosed on illegal drugs.

In these cases, murder charges against drug dealers are difficult to pursue. But, after an eight-month investigation, Randazzo was able to have the dealer prosecuted, making it one of the first cases of its kind in Broward County.

In the summer of 2021, Randazzo led an investigation of armed kidnapping. In that case, an estranged husband held his wife at gunpoint in an apartment over a pending divorce.

The woman told her estranged husband that she would need to call out of work that day during the ordeal. She pretended to call her employer when really, she was calling 911. The call takers recognized her tone and vague answers as signs of distress and dispatched police to the apartment. When they arrived, the male suspect fled.

Randazzo and other department members helped provide the woman shelter at a hotel.

He and other officers led the investigation into finding the male suspect. After finding his car 150 miles away in a wooded area, county deputies conducted a search.

After not finding the suspect during the first search, Randazzo sent a second team consisting of Coral Springs detectives. After an extensive search with five other agencies and search dogs, they found the suspect’s remains.

Dave Rose, a retired 21-year police officer, received the honor of civilian of the year.

After retiring from the department in 2002, he was rehired in 2014 as an IT specialist. In this role, he helped the department identify and test several new laptops and tablets to replace older technology.

Once Rose negotiated with the vendor about prices, he used his personal vehicle to distribute 159 computers to avoid shipping delays.

He then oversaw the computers’ installations in department vehicles. Despite delays in installing the new computers, Rose was able to mentor two interns and continues to train new hires on how to use the equipment.

Rose also implemented a new system that upgraded the department’s key tracking system to a digital format.

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Bryan Boggiano

Bryan has a degree in journalism from the University of Florida and earned his masters in geosciences from Florida International University, where he focused in atmospheric sciences. His interests include weather, entertainment, and municipal government.