Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell is preparing for the future while looking to the past.
In an exclusive interview, Sheriff Prummell discussed his vision, goals, and biggest initiatives for the next four years, his takeaways since assuming office, and changes within law enforcement.
Prummell has been serving Charlotte County for over thirty years. He began his career in 1992 and assumed the Office of Sheriff in 2013.
“I didn’t know if I’d ever become Sheriff. I didn’t know if I’d ever be good at it,” said Prummell.
Prummell said he loves his job but knows the job isn’t easy.
“One day, I’m sure I’ll step down, but I’m not ready yet,” said Prummell. “I think I still got something to give back, and there’s still some things I want to see through with our new facilities and technologies that we’re going to be implementing.”
“One of my goals is that we don’t just focus on crime problems, because in the grand scheme of things, crime is a fraction of what we do, but we try and we try and focus on quality of life. Because, if we focus on those small things, we work with our community, we help our community, we could potentially stop those small things from becoming something big,” Prummel said.
The Sheriff’s career has faced many obstacles, including multiple deputy-involved shootings and the loss of a deputy, Sergeant Elio Diaz. He is committed to moving forward with his goals and focusing on the future.
Looking Ahead
Prummell outlined big plans.
“We’ve got a lot of irons on the fire right now,” said Prummell.
A new District 5 office is set to open in Babcock Ranch, marking a significant shift in policing due to fast growth. Prummell joked that 30 years ago, “the east part of our county was primarily citrus and farms, and the cows could pretty much police themselves.”
A new administration building will open in 2026 and will hold an arctic facility inside.
The agency plans to keep up with technological advancements by continuing to test different artificial intelligence and technologies.
“The criminals are out there using technology to commit crimes. We need to use the technology to catch them. One of the problems with technology is it advances so quickly that often the laws can’t keep up with them,” said Prummell.
A new dispatch center in Punta Gorda will help with something on the Sheriff’s improvement list: consolidated dispatch.
“If there’s something major going on, everyone’s going to know, and everyone’s going to know right away,” said Prummell.
The Sheriff’s Office, the Punta Gorda Police and all of Fire and EMS will be under the same roof.
Wins & Improvements
“We’ve done so much over the years, and we’ve implemented so many different types of programs and so many different technologies. I look at it all as a win,” said Prummell.
One of those programs is the Senior Outreach Program. Seniors can sign up, and twice a week, a deputy will call them.
“We call them the check on, and there’s a designated time and day a week that we call them, and if nobody answers the phone, we send somebody out to check the house to make sure they’re okay,” said Prummell.
During Prummell’s time as Sheriff, body-worn cameras were also implemented, which he calls a “game changer.”
“99% of the time, law enforcement does what they’re supposed to do, and that’s what our our cameras have been showing. They’re they’re doing what they’re supposed to do,” said Prummell.
Prummell notes that one area for improvement is better communication with other county agencies. He said the new dispatch center would help with that.
Another improvement is being better prepared for hurricanes. They have invested in equipment necessary to respond better to water events.
“Charlotte County has never had a water event, they’ve always been wind events. Water events are very different,” said Prummell.
They now have six Jon Boats, which can be used to get into neighborhoods that are flooded.
The department also has two high-water rescue vehicles on the way. They are being outfitted and will be ready in the next few months.
Prummell said, “I don’t want to ever be caught in a position where I felt I was helpless,” in reference to a rescue he conducted during Hurricane Helene to assist his deputies.
“There became a point where we needed to make a decision. Do we leave, or are we going to get stuck because the water was coming in, and they’re in their patrol vehicles, and they can only tread so much water? So, at some point we had to get out of there, and I actually had three vehicles that were stranded there that we couldn’t get out. So I don’t ever want to be in that position again.”
Prummell noted wanting to fill the department’s 30 vacancies.
When asked if that number was unusual, Prummell responded yes by adding, “After George Floyd occurred, you had a lot of people leave this business, and that was nationwide, and then trying to fill those vacancies, because then you’d have the natural attrition each year.”
They had more than 60 vacancies in 2020.
“There are more than three million law enforcement-citizen contacts each and every day. So, take that into context. How many incidents do you hear went wrong or perceived to have gone wrong?” said Prummell.
He went on to say, “How can you say that it’s systematic? There’s bad apples in every profession, but it’s up to us as executives to try and weed them out when they do come but I can tell you that the vast majority of my people here, they do a very good job, and they’re out there, day in and day out, doing the right thing.”
Prummel said they have numerous applications and hope to fill the caps within six months.
A tough few months for CCSO
In addition to the hurricanes, there have been four deputy-involved shootings in the past few months.
“We’ve had a bad run of luck when it comes to officer-involved shootings. They were all good shots. But we’re dealing with individuals who people knew were struggling with something,” said Prummell.
Prummell emphasized the importance of speaking up. If you see something, say something.
“If we can get out there earlier and intervene, there may be a chance that we can help that individual, and then the outcomes we saw may not have happened.”
In December, Sergeant Elio Diaz, a longtime deputy of the department, was killed while working in the line of duty.
“I’ve had to deal with the gamut here,” said Prummell.
His passing garnered community support towards the Sheriff’s Office.
“We’ve been very blessed to be here in Charlotte County, here in the state of Florida, because they are very pro-law enforcement here. They have our backs. And that has been shown time after time, especially when we hit some really hard times, the community steps up and they take care of us, but these body warns have really shown that my people are doing their jobs.”
Change within Charlotte County
Prummell spoke about the changes the Sheriff’s Office and the entire county has seen over time. Besides population growth, attitudes towards law enforcement for some have shifted.
“I remember back when I started, a stolen vehicle was unheard of, and now it just seems like it’s a common occurrence everywhere,” said Prummell.
He went on to say, ” People challenging law enforcement nowadays and challenging the authority. I think our uses of force are just not the same as they used to be. It’s different than what it used to be. It’s a different time. It’s a different world.”
Prummell’s Passions
The struggle of mental health is an issue Prummell is passionate about. Prummel sits on the Commission for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder.
“In most cases, if you can get that person into the right services, you can get them on the right track, and they can be productive citizens. But mental health still sometimes has that stigma, and people don’t want to speak up, and they think it’s a bad word.”
He often travels and speaks to politicians.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of things. I never thought that I’d be so involved in politics as I am right now, but I go up to D.C. to meet with senators and Congress to discuss issues,” said Prummell.
He went on to say, “I’m very positive that we’re going to see some positive legislation in that realm, coming across, especially when it comes into the criminal justice field.”
Law enforcement often deal with people who have mental health and substance use disorders and Prummell notes, jail is not the way to help someone with mental problems.
The CCSO IRIS Unit helps those with mental illnesses. Prummell said he wants to train more deputies for the unit and double or triple the size, citing many mental health calls.
When WINK News Reporter Olivia Jean asked Prummell what he wants his legacy to be, he said, “I just want to leave this place better than than how I found it.”
Prummell has three children and four grandchildren.
He sits on the Board of Directors for CARE, is the Chair for Drug Free Charlotte County and is the President of the Florida Sheriff’s Association. He is also involved in the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranches.