VCSO’S Best Of The First Quarter Honored

Date Added: May 03, 2016 4:40 pm

Andrew Gant
Public Information Office

When an agitated man chose a major intersection in a residential Daytona Beach-area neighborhood to threaten suicide with a gun to his head, tensions mounted for everyone nearby.

A crowd gathered as the man refused to calm down while speaking to deputies. Someone started flying a drone overhead, creating more distraction during 35 long minutes of negotiation.

When the 30-year-old finally placed the gun on the street, stepped away from it and surrendered peacefully, it was thanks to Senior Deputy Adam Clausen – the only deputy able to establish a rapport with the man and get him into custody safely. The gun turned out to be a fake, and the man told deputies he’d recently become homeless and was “ready to end it.”

Clausen, also a member of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Crime Suppression Unit, K-9 Unit and Bomb Squad and a training instructor for new recruits, was one of five VCSO members recognized Tuesday for outstanding work. “You can tell in his work ethic, Senior Deputy Clausen is very passionate about his job and creating a new and better Sheriff’s Office along with a better and safer community,” Sgt. Thomas Dane wrote in nominating Clausen as Deputy of the Quarter. Joining him for the honors were:

Investigator of the Quarter Timothy Pullin, whose investigation of a theft of a construction vehicle in Deltona led not only to the arrests of two suspects, but also tied them to a large-scale Deltona-area narcotics ring. In March, Pullin solved the robbery of a Girl Scout who was selling cookies in front of a Deltona Wal-Mart, resulting in the arrests of a brother-sister pair who left the state. And he investigated a residential burglary case in which the only lead was a surveillance photo – but which led him to identify a suspect and arrest him within a few days. “Each day he comes to work with a renewed desire to make victims whole,” Sgt. Todd Smith wrote.

Telecommunicator of the Quarter Debra Lynn Rego, who took a call reporting a man wanted for homicide in North Dakota was in Volusia County. The caller gave some information – a location, a name (which turned out to be false), a vehicle and a tag number – but Rego went farther. She researched the tag and found the suspect’s real name, then located a news article about the homicide that included a photo of the suspect. She contacted a sergeant and emailed him the photo, and deputies confirmed they had a homicide suspect giving them a false name. Thanks in part to her research behind the scenes, the suspect was arrested without incident.

Civilian Employee of the Quarter Teri Lynn Waller, a school crossing guard who has become a welcome sight on the road. She’s often seen getting hugs from the children who know her, and smiling and waving at drivers as they pass. “Her actions make every morning more pleasurable for all,” Sgt. Garey MacDowell wrote in nominating her for the honor. “Terry is an outstanding example of what a crossing guard should look and act like.”

Volunteer of the Quarter Ted Wing, a retired computer pro who works in the VCSO’s Public Information Office but also works from home on projects for various divisions of the agency. He developed a database for modernizing and indexing the VCSO’s newspaper article archives for future access. He created and updated spreadsheet systems for the Citizen Observer Program and Special Projects, and he rebuilt and streamlined a database for Extraditions that significantly reduced workloads and increased efficiency and productivity. “Ted’s willingness to help, his expertise in database and spreadsheet use, and volunteering more hours than expected are an asset to Special Projects, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and the community we serve,” his nominator Community Liaison Coordinator Joe Cohen-Ortiz wrote.