Leadership Applauds Bay Pines VA Police’s Leadership, Quick Response During Suspicious Package/IED Threat
Their mission is to protect those who served, and that’s exactly what the Bay Pines VA police service did following the report of a suspicious package at C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center, December 12.
Shortly after 9 a.m., an employee notified VA police that an individual had left a suitcase in a waiting area and quickly departed the area. VA police responded immediately and reviewed the CCTV footage, whereby a decision was made to begin the evacuation protocol.
“We immediately determined the item qualified as a suspicious package and notified the executive leadership team we were issuing a CODE Black announcement,” said Bay Pines VA Police Chief Jesse Gabbert.
As Bay Pines VA leadership were activating the organization’s Incident Command Team and Bay Pines VA police coordinated with the Tampa Police Department’s Bomb Squad, Sgt. Joshua Grabski oversaw the efficient evacuation of the entire first floor of building 100, including all clinics and the emergency department.
“Our ability to respond effectively and efficiently is a direct reflection of our training,” added Bay Pines VA Executive Director and CEO Paul M. Russo. “There’s no doubt in my mind that our police officers are a team of well-trained, confident, and professional individuals who exceeded the standard in shaping our response efforts from the beginning of this event to the all-clear.”
While employees and Veterans were safely evacuated from the building to a safe location, the VA Police Incident Commander, Deputy Chief David Kratz and Operations Commander Maj. Daniel Hernandez dispatched multiple teams to support traffic coordination and to establish a staging and reception area for outside responding agencies.
“Our VA police demonstrated a high level of skill in their immediate emergency response efforts, which is precisely what is needed for this type of situation,” added Bay Pines VA Associate Director, Sean Turner, who served as the healthcare system’s incident commander. “Incident command is removed from the specific area, and the ability to have Lt. Kevin Collins in the room with us, providing immediate updates from the team on the ground, elevated our awareness and allowed us to collectively coordinate our actions more effectively.”
VA Police, along with responding agencies determined that the situation did contain high-risk factors and the Tampa Bay Bomb Squad began their process to investigate the suitcase. After an extensive investigation including an x-ray, it was found that the suitcase didn’t contain any harmful materials.
“I cannot speak highly enough about our VA police officers,” continued Russo, who was notified by Gabbert that an additional three Bay Pines VA police officers came in to provide support on their day off. “There’s no doubt in my mind that our employees and those we serve received – and will continue to receive – the highest levels of professionalism, commitment, and leadership from this team!”
Russo added that he would like to offer his appreciation to the following outside agencies who provided great response and teamwork during this event:
- Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Police K-9
- Tampa Police Department Bomb Squad
- Seminole Fire Department
- Madeira Beach Fire Department
- Sunstar Ambulance Service
- University of Southern Florida Police K-9
- US Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms
- VA Office of the Inspector General
- Federal Bureau of Investigation