Fort Myers police officer honors fallen heroes from across the country

Fort Myers Police Officer Bill Schettino knows what it means to be a first responder. In 2019, he started a woodworking business but wanted it to have a higher purpose.

Schettino is a New Jersey native and a Fort Myers police officer. He dedicates his time out of uniform to honoring those who lost their lives wearing one.

“Around 2019, I started, actually, with a hand tool, with pieces of wood, making hand-carved American flags, and it was something I enjoyed doing, and it was something that I wanted to do more of,” said Schettino.

Schettino started his own business called Operation Woodworks.

“The goal is to make one of these for every single officer killed in the line of duty every year. It’s my way of giving back to the community that’s been there for us, been there for me, during tough times,” Schettino said.

This year, Schettino’s made eight customized flags for officers nationwide.

He carefully sands, paints and stains them, using a special machine for the design.

“So you’ll put your piece, whatever it may be, in here, get it lined up and centered. Then when you are ready to start the project, you’ll close this. I turn the laser on. This is made of a special material so you can run the laser, and it’s not going to hurt your eyes, and from there, I can run the project,” said Schettino.

Each flag takes about five hours to make. When complete, Schettino ships them to the departments that suffered the loss.

“There is nothing that you can say or do that’s going to make anything any better for them, but just being there for each other is really what it’s all about,” Schettino said.

Schettino knows what it feels like to lose a brother in blue. He was an FMPD officer when a gunman murdered Officer Adam Jobbers-Miller in 2018.

“Worst thing I’ve ever experienced probably in my life, and when you see another agency and other officers going through that, you feel it in your gut because you know it’s just a sickening feeling inside, and there’s nothing you can do except be there for each other,” said Schettino.

Now, he is working on a flag for Christopher Taylor, the Charlotte County deputy killed in a DUI crash last week.

“There’s a great quote in a movie that I always go back to. It’s one of my favorite quotes, and it’s at the end of Black Hawk Down when one of the operators says, ‘People don’t understand it’s about the man next to you.’ And that’s all it is. That’s exactly why we go to work every day and why I do the things like this that I do,” said Schettino.

You can find a link to Schettino’s work here. He takes orders online and donates a portion of the proceeds to the families of those killed in the line of duty.