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Congratulations to Sergeant Lauren E. Poole, recipient of the City of Coral Gables “Officer of the Month Award,” for the month of August 2019.
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I would like to nominate Sergeant Lauren E. Poole for the "Officer of the Month" award. On August 19, 2019, Sergeant Poole was conducting a zone blitz; which is essentially a directed patrol in a specific zone for a designated amount of time. During the zone blitz, Sergeant Poole observed two subjects walking eastbound on Carmona Court. Both subjects were wearing hooded sweatshirts, with the hoods covering their hair. Sergeant Poole found this suspicious since the weather was warm and humid.
Sergeant Poole activated her emergency overhead lights and attempted contact with the subjects. Both males continued to walk eastbound ignoring her emergency lights. Sergeant Poole gave them loud verbal commands to stop. Sergeant Poole noticed the subjects were young and inquired their age. Both subjects confirmed they were both minors violating curfew hours. One of the defendants spontaneously stated they were going to visit some girls and left their bikes parked by a dead end street. Neither one of the juveniles had any identification on them.
Both defendants were read their Miranda rights per card and agreed to answer questions. According to both subjects, they came from Allapatah to visit some girls who live in the area. Neither subject was able to provide the girls address or any proof they had been communicating with them. A consent to search was conducted and revealed a suspicious clear baggy with a green leafy substance which appeared to be marijuana. Based on their suspicious behavior, along with their inability to dispel her alarm, both subjects were arrested and charged with loitering and prowling.
Further information revealed one of the subjects is an active member of a gang which is responsible for targeting Coral Gables and committing vehicle burglaries. There is no doubt that Sergeant Poole's keen observa...
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