ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV spoke one-on-one with new St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro to discuss an 18-page memo he sent to staff on Tuesday.
“I felt this needed to be drastic and needed to be dramatic,” said Del Toro. “People need to know we mean business.”
He said he sent the memo to staff minutes after he took the oath of office in the overnight hour Tuesday.
“The employees are expecting change,” Del Toro said. “They know change is on the horizon. They've known it for quite some time.”
One big change: Efficiency.
Del Toro told WPTV’s Tyler Hatfield that he’ll increase the number of captains from four to nine. Another change, no more chief deputy.
Instead, there will be a chief "undersheriff," who will be in charge of law enforcement operations, and a chief operating officer for civilian operations, such as training and human resources.
“I have created several executive and command level positions within the organizational structure that were needed when I first took over,” said Del Toro.
The criminal investigations unit will also be transformed, with one unit focusing on general crime, and a special investigation unit focused on narcotics, homeland security, organized crime and more.
Compared to his predecessor, Keith Pearson, Del Toro said he wants to be more transparent with the media and the public.
“We have a very forgiving public, but I think when we mess up, we need to take ownership of it, learn from it, and explain how we're going to do better moving forward,” Del Toro said.
Critics of Pearson said his use of social media—showing suspects being arrested—hurt the sheriff’s office’s credibility.
Del Toro agrees.
“Some of the things were just not traditional law enforcement and a little unprofessional on certain things, like using basically criminals as props and different things like that,” said Del Toro.
While, Del Toro sees social media as a tool he said it needs to be professional.
“We're going to treat people with dignity, and we're treat people respect, and we're going to enforce the law,” he said.
WPTV's previous coverage on Del Toro:
Region St Lucie County
'Change is coming': Del Toro sworn in as St. Lucie Co. sheriff
Elections Local
Richard Del Toro wins race for St. Lucie County sheriff
Elections Local
St. Lucie Co. Sheriff's Office candidate Richard Del Toro wins primary
Elections Local
Will rhetoric cool down in sheriff's race after bitter St. Lucie County primary?
Elections Local
