Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office 2016 Deputy of the Year

Matt Boster

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Posted by: Matt Boster
Date: Jan 30 2017 11:31 AM

Since joining the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in April 2014, Deputy Jose Pereira has epitomized a strong, proactive work ethic and a desire to constantly enhance his knowledge and skills. He combines outstanding productivity and professionalism with the use of proper judgment in conducting thorough investigations. Throughout 2016, Deputy Pereira tallied 2,246 calls for service.

He prepared 145 offense reports, cleared 72 cases, and made 94 arrests. He is the top performer in removing intoxicated drivers from our roads with 46 DUI arrests in 2016, 42 in 2015, and 22 in 2014. That diligence has earned him recognition from MADD or Mothers against Drunk Driver for eight consecutive years. He is also a member of the Traffic Homicide Investigation unit. In 2015, Deputy Pereira was selected as our sole law enforcement officer to attend the Drug Recognition Expert Training Program.

A DR-E is defined as a “deputy, officer or trooper, trained to recognize impairment in drivers under the influence of drugs other than, or in addition to, alcohol.” Last year he completed five DRE evaluations of arrested persons with .000 alcohol concentrations. Three were for other law enforcement officers whose DUI arrests presented a .000 alcohol concentration, but on all of the DRE evaluations, it was determined the subjects were under the influence of at least one to seven drug categories. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URquyHW-l9w Deputy Pereira attended the IPTM Impaired Driver Symposium and DRE Recertification training in 2016.

He also took part in Crisis Intervention Team training and has used that to help build rapport with suicidal and mentally ill individuals. His supervision can rely on him to work diligently to defuse stressful situations with irate subjects and bring about successful and peaceful resolutions. During 2016, Bravo East became a shift of relatively low tenure and experience. Deputy Pereira was placed in a role to teach new deputies and ensure the success of our mission.

He educated his shift mates on DUI enforcement and also regularly used his bilingual skills to assist in cases. That has been crucial in several domestic crimes where he brought calm and reassurance to the victims. On the personal level, Deputy Pereira devotes time to assisting the Crestview High School Band as well as the youth ministry at the Eglin Catholic Chapel. He is a member of the St. Michaels Catholic Church as well.

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