The Cocoa Police Department (CPD) is the primary law-enforcement agency for the city of Cocoa, Florida, and is accredited through the state of Florida. The department services approximately 19,000 residents within 15.41 sq miles (39.91 sq km) of the municipality. The department also serves roughly 2,500 non-residents who commute daily to the municipality for employment.
The City of Cocoa has consistently been in the top ten "most dangerous" cities within the state of Florida. As of 2020 the city was listed at No. 6, eclipsing the nearby metropolitan cities of Orlando (#20), Miami, and Jacksonville, with neither Miami nor Jacksonville in the top 25. The Department has authorized staffing of one officer per 264 residents (not including transient workers, visitors, or tourists).Authorized force divided by population This equates to approximately 4 officers per 1,000 residents, in contrast to the national average of 2.4 officers per 1,000 residents. The city and national figures also include sworn officers not regularly assigned to road patrol (e.g., detectives, school resource officers, command staff, etc.).
Notwithstanding the reported criminal demographics, the City of Cocoa contains populations of varying socioeconomic stratum. The police department patrols areas along the Indian River with homes valuing in excess of $2 million. The north of the city is home to SpaceX and other private and government facilities. A limited-access freeway, The Orlando-Port Canaveral Beachline, runs through the northern section of the municipality from I-95 to the city's eastern limits in the middle of the Indian River. Because this approximate five-mile stretch lies within city limits, the Cocoa Police also act as a highway patrol, conducting traffic enforcement and responding to all motor vehicle collisions. Brightline constructed the first high-speed rail in Florida, which runs through the north of the city, along the aforementioned Beachline Freeway. Since operations began in 2023, the police department also acts as a railway police, until another governmental agency assumes the responsibility.
Agency overview
The Cocoa Police Department has an authorized force of 72 sworn officers, 16 telecommunications (dispatch) officers, 3 records technicians, 2 booking officers, and numerous other crime scene investigators and support personnel. The department has been accredited since 2006 through the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation.
Headquartered just west of Cocoa Village, the CPD is a progressive agency, with multiple specialty units. The CPD contains a criminal investigations division (CID), professional compliance unit (internal affairs), traffic homicide investigators, SWAT, a K9 unit, motor unit, crisis negotiations team (CNT), a marine unit, school resource officer (SRO) unit, and a community engagement unit (CEU). The K9 unit has four patrol dogs and one black and tan coonhound used for therapy and tracking. The SRO unit has four officers, one at each charter and public school within the city. The CEU is authorized four officers and a sergeant, responsible for community engagement and policing.
The CPD also has an intelligence analyst, two victim advocates, and a civilian public information officer who disseminates information to the public via social media and traditional media. The department has a number of citizen volunteers who assist with administrative and logistical issues. The code enforcement office of the City operates under the auspices of the police department, as well. The code enforcement office is authorized one code enforcement manager, with two subordinate enforcement officers.
Analogous to the auxiliary and reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, the Cocoa Police Department has several similar variations: "VCOPs" (citizen volunteers), auxiliary police officers, and reserve police officers.
Citizen volunteers are non-sworn personnel, who have attended a specialized training course and consent to a background investigation. Although the citizen volunteers have no police authority, they assist with logistical and administrative duties (such as traffic and crowd control at special events). Auxiliary officers are unpaid volunteers that have specialized training, are authorized to carry firearms, and authorized to make arrests when working under the direct supervision of a sworn, full-time paid officer, or reserve officer. Reserve officers are classified as "part-time officers" under Florida statute. In Cocoa, reserve officers are unpaid, fully sworn law enforcement officers that have gone through the exact same training, have the same authority as full-time officers, and may work without the supervision of a paid officer. Reserve officers are "qualified law enforcement officers," identical to full-time officers, and have the same LEOSA privileges as paid officers. As such, they are authorized to carry firearms on/off duty throughout the United States and its territories, the same as their full-time counterparts. Divisions As described by the agency, the Cocoa Police Department is subdivided into the following divisions: Administration- contains the Office of the Chief, professional compliance, public affairs Investigations- contains Criminal and Special Investigations Division (CID/SID, detectives and agents), Criminal Intelligence Analysis, Property and Evidence, Crime Scene Technologists, and Victim Services Operations- contains Patrol, SWAT, Crisis Negotiations, K-9, School Resource Unit, Community Engagement Unit, Traffic Enforcement Unit, Training, Crossing Guards, Police Athletic League, and V-COPs Support Services- contains Accreditation Compliance, Budget and Finance, Telecommunications, Grants Management, and Records
Jurisdiction Although sworn members of the Cocoa Police Department have primary jurisdiction within the incorporated municipal limits of the city, Florida state statute permits law enforcement agencies to enter into mutual aid agreements with each other. The Brevard County Sheriff's Office has entered into a mutual aid agreement with the City of Cocoa (as well as other incorporated municipalities within Brevard County that have their own police departments). This mutual aid agreement stipulates (among other things): "...(the officers) shall have the power to make any and all arrests and otherwise act with full authority as a law enforcement officer in the jurisdictional area of the other agency." The mutual aid agreement also permits off-duty law enforcement actions, in conjunction with departmental policies.https://cocoabeach.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=4&clip_id=3523&meta_id=188027 Furthermore, some sworn members in specialized units (e.g., federal or local task forces) may also be cross-deputized as federal agents, deputy sheriffs, or both.
Union representation Unlike some other US states (such as those in the northeastern United States), the State of Florida is a "right-to-work" state. In states without such right-to-work laws, sworn officers of law enforcement agencies can not opt out of joining labor unions. Sworn officers of the Cocoa Police Department of the rank of lieutenant and below have the option of joining a labor union. As of 2022, the current labor union representing the Cocoa Police Department is the Florida Police Benevolent Association (PBA). The local chapter servicing Cocoa officers is called the Coastal PBA.
History 19th century Created with the incorporation of Cocoa in 1895, the Cocoa Police Department was initially called the "Office of the Marshal," led by an elected town marshal. The department's responsibilities were not only keeper of the peace, but also to collect taxes. The first marshal, George Lynch, was nominated and elected without opposition. The salary of the town marshal was $40 per month ($ in 2021 dollars), plus $1 ($) per conviction of a civil infraction that was paid in full by the offender. After six months, Lynch resigned from his position and was replaced by an appointed interim marshal, James Payne. Internal politics had Payne replaced and reappointed several times, into the new century. In October 1927, the elected position of town marshal/tax collector was abolished, and replaced with an appointed chief of police.
Great Depression In May 1929, it was reported by local media that the department purchased its first motorized vehicle, a Ford "Touring Car" with the words "Police-City of Cocoa" painted on the sides. Prior to the start of the Great Depression in 1929, the salary of the police chief was $200 per month ($ in 2021 dollars) and $140 ($) for the night patrolman. After the stock market crash, by 1932 the chief's salary was decreased by half to $100 per month ($), with the patrolman's salary falling to $90 ($) per month.
World War II and Cold War-era By the early 1940s, the department had grown to four officers and purchased its first motor bike, a two-cylinder motorcycle operated by Officer L.W. Silsby. On October 23, 1945, the department hired its first "colored policeman", E.G. Harvey, who policed the "colored" population and stayed with the department for at least ten years. By 1949, the department had increased to six officers, and purchased two General Electric 50-watt two-way police radios. A police phone booth was erected within the department, as well as in the local community.
On July 9, 1954, the department recorded its first (and only, to date) line-of-duty death. Although anecdotal reports conflict, the department's website officially indicates that a lieutenant reportedly succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Department records described the lieutenant "was shot with his own service revolver in an apparent accidental self-inflicted incident."
The longest-sitting chief of police was Chief Art Corlew. Corlew was initially hired with the department in 1952 as a parking meter patrolman. By January 1958, Patrolman Corlew was Chief of Police Corlew. At this time, Corlew authorized the City's first "policewoman", Doris Adkins. Adkins initially served as parking meter enforcement. Records indicate that Adkins was hired on Monday, February 10, 1958, and was compensated with an annual salary of $3000 ($ in 2021 dollars). Corlew retired in 1983. Out of his 31-year career, Corlew served as chief for 25 years. Over the next approximate 15 years, another 5 chiefs would lead the department, with one involved in alleged gambling and racketeering charges.
Turn of the century and today In 1999, the department relocated to a new purpose-built facility, and its current location. The department had been located on Brunson Boulevard since 1964. Prior to 1964, the police department was located within the city hall (which, at the time, was located on Willard Drive, unlike its current location on Stone Street in downtown Cocoa Village). In 2003 the department began its application for state accreditation, which was completed three years later, in 2006. In 2021, the City of Cocoa hired its first African-American police chief, Evander Collier IV, a retired assistant chief from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Community policing and outreach