ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Sentinel, is yet another media outlet that buys into Sheriff Mike Chitwood's public relations name calling schtick at the expense of real crime stories stories and issues in his agency. And the mess he left behind in Daytona Beach, where violent crimes shot through the roof under his final two years as chief of police (19 homicides). This story above, like others, feature the PIO, leading the cheers like a PR flak. If this were really community-generted, why are there no citizen voices quited or even refenced in the story? These cases are selected because they are easy pickings like low hanging fruit from a tree. Perhaps the Sentinel should look into real stories under Chitwood's reign: escalating violent crime, the continuing exodus of sworn personnel from his agency and his hiring of his own campaign manager to do even more PR. Our small Sanford-based internet media outlet, HeadlineSufer.com, has been ostracized by this sheriff since he took office Jan. 1 (banned from press conferences, denied press cards and excluded from email media alerts)... He has held a grudge since against us since 2012, when we reported on his promotion of a patrol supervisor to captain despite alleged harassment of women cops. Chitwood was incensed that our story won two Florida Press Club awards later that same year. With the kind of promotional coverage shown here, the Orlando Sentinel doesn't have to deal with the pettiness of Sheriff Michael J. Chitwood.
Bianca Padró OcasioContact ReporterOrlando Sentinel