Tampa mayor Bob Buckhorn and police chief Brian Dugan will send 20 officers off to the Florida Panhandle on Thursday afternoon.
According to a press alert, Buckhorn and Chief Dugan will be joined by Chief Charlie Vazquez of Tampa International Airport Police Department — along with additional officers from Plant City Police Department and the University of South Florida Police Department — in front of Tampa Police Headquarters for the 5:30 p.m. departure.
The deployment of police officers is yet another multi-agency Bay area effort to assist the panhandle with Hurricane Michael recovery efforts.
This morning, CL reported that more than 70 souls from Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, St. Petersburg Fire Rescue and Tampa Fire Rescue have also deployed to help with recovery efforts after Hurricane Michael.
Tampa Police Captain Carlos Rodriguez will lead the 20 officers of this "TampaStrong" Platoon as they depart to help our neighbors in the north in dealing with the catastrophic impact of the hurricane.
(UPDATE 5:25 P.M.: Sunstar Paramedics, Pinellas County's 911 ambulance provider, also deployed two ambulance buses, five ambulances and 23 employees to the panhandle early Thursday morning.)
