Public safety personnel honored
A Cape Coral police detective, Cape firefighter and two members of the Lee Count Sheriff’s Office were recognized on Thursday by the local business community as the 2016 Officers of the Year.
The Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral and FOS Furniture hosted its annual awards ceremony during the chamber Business After Hours event from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at FOS, at 790 N. Del Prado Blvd. According to FOS owner Pat Corlew, the winners are picked by each of their perspective agencies.
The recipients of this year’s Officer of the Year awards are Cape Detective Erick Rosario and Cape Engineer Sascha Roubal, along with Sgt. Andrea Fisher and Deputy Chase Bubley of the LCSO.
Roubal said he is gracious and humbled to receive the award.
“I was actually really thankful that the Cape Coral Fire Department would nominate me,” he said.
According to officials, Roubal is the type of person who gets the job done and done correctly.
Recently appointed to shift haz-mat field training officer, Roubal became state-certified in Fire Officer I and II, Fire Inspector I and II, Pump Operator and Hazardous Materials Technician in the last year.
His commitment to education and training lifts, not only himself, but the department in providing the best community care and response – an impact evident on several calls over the last year. One call was regarding an infant found not breathing. Roubal was crucial in the resuscitative efforts to save its life.
Another call involved a structure fire where he was given the task of providing a water supply. Three firefighters were taken to the hospital during the fight, but Roubal’s efforts are credited with preventing more firefighters from becoming injured and stopping the spread of the fire to surrounding structures.
It is the first time he has been nominated for the award.
“I don’t think I’m special by any means,” Roubal said, noting that he was pretty surprised.
“But, I’m excited to get it,” he added.
He attributed the desire to remain safe in his industry as motivation for improvement.
“I guess, in the field that we’re in, continuing education and progressing through the career is something myself and everyone in the department should strive for,” Roubal said.
“I try to motivate people around me,” he added.
Roubal has been with the fire department since 2007.
It is also Rosario’s first time receiving the award.
“I’m pretty honored and extremely humbled,” he said.
“I think any officer selected for this award is definitely a good quality officer,” Rosario added. “I think we’re all just honored in receiving such a prestigious award.”
According to officials, Rosario was the case officer in a months-long investigation into forgery, fraud and theft across Lee County that resulted in the recovery of nearly $5,000 in gift cards and $3,400.
Cape resident Henry Alberto Fernandez Gomez, 30, was developed as a suspect in the forgery and fraudulent use of a credit card by re-encoding gift cards with the victim’s credit card information. After identifying Gomez, Rosario also discovered that he was a suspect in several other open fraud cases.
Over five months, Rosario worked hours of surveillance on Gomez. He provided other agencies with information on Gomez’s roommates, resulting in arrests for crimes in jurisdictions outside the city.
Rosario’s tenacity and persistence during the investigation culminated in the acquisition of a search warrant for Gomez’s residence, according to officials. Not only did the execution of the warrant result in his arrest, it led to the gift cards and the $3,400 in cash wrapped together with clear shipping tape, officials said.
He attributed his interest in the case to how is affected its victims.
“I think because economic crimes impact people so much in today’s age that it really spoke to me,” Rosario said. “I wanted to have the opportunity to bring justice and resolution to the victims.”
The case also earned him the department’s recognition of Officer of the Year.
Rosario has been with the Cape police since 2007.
Fisher and Bubley were nominated for actions that more than likely saved a motorist’s life.
At 2:30 a.m. April 1, they responded to a serious crash on Interstate 75. On scene, they noticed a flipped over mangled vehicle that was on fire. While the other first responders warned Bubley and Fisher not to approach the burning vehicle, they were concerned that someone might be inside it.
With disregard for her own safety, Fisher entered the vehicle through a small opening in the back window and found a woman in the driver’s seat on the verge of losing consciousness from the smoke, officials stated. With the fire only a few feet away, Fisher crawled to the driver’s feet to free them.
As Fisher held onto the driver, Bubley pulled them out of the burning smoke-filled vehicle.
Fisher has been with the LCSO since 2000, while Bubley joined the agency in 2013.
Neither could be reached for comment on Thursday.