DUNNELLON, FL (352today.com) – It’s an agency that may be small, but it makes a large impact on the community.
Visibility, crime prevention and getting residents involved in the community have made the Dunnellon Police Department (DPD) a welcome presence.
“I think one of our biggest assets is that the citizens know we’re here and that were available,” says Dunnellon Police Chief Chris Scaglione. “They know that we will be able to respond quicker to their needs because the city has their own agency.”
However, Scaglione says miscommunication and misunderstandings led to unexpected problems, and most of the department resigned in mid-April of 2023 because they thought the department was being disbanded. Scaglione was a veteran with the Ocala Police Department (OPD) for 27 years. After retiring from OPD, Scaglione worked with DPD as a reserve officer for a brief stint before going full time. He was in that role for about eight months before he was named interim chief in the succeeding previous chief, Mike McQuaig, who had retired in April 2023. Scaglione was named full-time chief in June of 2023.
Even though there were some difficulties, Dunnellon was able to have its own police department again, thanks to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), which helped out for over 100 days.
“For me, what I’m most proud of is going back to the beginning; when we started the police department, when everyone left the sheriff’s office, we were able to go from nothing to a fully functional law enforcement agency in 78 days,” says Scaglione, who greatly appreciates the help he received from MCSO during that period. “They started July 3rd of last year, and by September we had officers out on the road.”
The agency is now fully staffed with 10 full-time officers, and one part-timer.
The DPD has also worked closely not only with MCSO, but with OPD and the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.
Scaglione says that DPD will be doing another traffic operation in the near future with MCSO, OPD and the Florida Highway Patrol, placing an emphasis on traffic safety as it gets closer to the holiday season. He infers that it’s that spirit of cooperation between the agencies that helps keep Marion County safe.
Scaglione shares a story about a city council meeting he was attending. He says that a woman came in and told him that her husband had been missing for several hours on the Withlacoochee River. He explains that it was early evening when she told him and that her husband had possibly lost his way while out on a 19-foot skiff.
“The captain and I left the council meeting,” says Scaglione. “I started getting the information from [the missing man’s wife] and we got in touch with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office who began getting their helicopter ready. Our captain went and got in the boat, drove up the river, and we found him in 20 minutes – before the helicopter could even launch.”
Scaglione expresses that he is particularly impressed by the professionalism of DPD, and he is quick to thank the other agencies for their support.
“Their sense of professionalism and expertise of what these men and women have brought,” says Scaglione. “The way they jumped on board and the sacrifices they made. I’m super impressed with the big heart that they have.”