NSBNEWS.net photos by Sera Frederick.
Oak Hill Acting Interim Police Chief Diane Young stands proudly in front of her squad car at the police station prior to Saturday's Christmas parade. Then she radios the officers on duty to see that her officers are in place to deal with traffic issues associated with the parade. For two days straight prior to Saturday's parade, Young was inundated by the Central Florida media about her admission on her job application six years ago as a rookie cop that she had used cocaine 100 times two decades ago.
OAK HILL --
For two days straight, TV news camera crews and a couple of metro newspaper reporters followed Acting Interim Police Chief Diane Young after an Orlando media outlet received a tip last Thursday that she had admitted on her job application six years ago as a rookie cop that she used cocaine 100 times more than 20 years ago.
But at a City Commission meeting Monday, officials and residents alike reiterated that Young's tenure on the police force has been outstanding and nothing has changed even with the intense media scrutiny.
"She's got one of the biggest hearts in Oak Hill," resident Blanche Brentzel said of the 55-year-old Young, who has supervised four police officers and two reserves for six weeks now. "She was there for me when my husband died."
Brentzel and others pointed out all of the charitable causes Young has led, including checking up on homebound seniors and a recent Christmas toy drive for children.
City Commissioner William Marcello said of Young's past: "What transpired 24 years ago transpired 24 years ago," adding, "Her application stated very truthfully what she had done."
Marcello was irritated that the media had put such an emphasis on one line from her application, that she freely wrote in her own words that she had used cocaine "100 times."
The commissioner dubbed the Orlando TV stations that followed her around for two days "the police paparazzi."
There was no media on the third day, Saturday, with the exception of NSBNEWS.net, which videotaped the parade and interviewed Young prior to her leading the 2 p.m. event in her squad car.
"I think it's malicoius -- I feel it's malicious," Young said of her past being dredged up at this time. "I never tried to hide anything. I felt my past was my past."
Young said she used cocaine over a two-year period between 1984-'86 after losing her job in the skydiving industry and sinking into an abyss. But then at the age of 48, she got an associate's degree in law enforcement and then went into the police academy. She applied for a job as a cop in Oak Hill and put the cocaine use on her application because "it was the right thing to do."
Thern-Police Chief Gus Beckstrom hired her after a background check from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement validated she had no criminal record. Since her hiring, her record has been stellar, according to departmental records in her personnel file, including being named the department's "Police Officer of the Year" in 2005. She's developed several successful community policing programs in Oak Hill, including a check list of all elderly residents who live alone with health needs and mentoring elementary school children under a program called "Character Counts."
News of Young's past surfaced just a few days after Oak Hill city officials announced she and four others were in the running to be named interim police chief until Guy Grasso returns from disability leave for an injured neck when he was struck from behind in his patrol car by a motorist while stopped.
Marcello said he's not sure who tipped off the media, but if the intent was to have Young cast aside, it won't work. Mayor Darla Lauer and fellow commissioners Linda Hyatt, Kathy Bittle and Marcello all echoed support for Young at Monday's meeting while Deputy Mayor Mary Lee Cook said she would "remain neutral."
City officials reiterated Monday that they need to go over the applications of the other candidates before deciding whether to stick with Young or hire someone new until Grasso returns, which could be months, if at all. They include former Oak Hill Officer Roy Shaffer, Ormond Beach Neighborhood Improvement Officer William Freil, retiring Volusia County Department of Public Protection Internal Affairs Capt. Ken Modzelewski and Parker, Fla., resident Guy Turcotte, who is a consultant with the Crawford (Nebraska) police force.