The Town of Loxahatchee Groves held an installation ceremony for the five deputies of the town’s new Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office District 17 substation during a town hall workshop meeting Friday, Sept. 29.
“This is a wonderful day for the town and certainly for the sheriff’s office. We are very proud to be here. It has been a long time coming, and a lot of work has gone into it,” District 17 Commander Lt. David Combs said. “I think we have assembled a first wave of deputies that you are going to be very proud of. I think that it is a wonderful, eclectic, group. This is a step forward in being able to provide the town with the finest possible law enforcement services that we can, and I think that we are well on our way.”
Deputies Tifani Liming, John Walker, George Campbell, Alice Alfonso and Alex Concepcion were recognized for the commitment they have made to the town.
“The one thing I can promise you is commitment to the town,” PBSO Col. Antonio Araujo said. “You’re not only going to get what you see here. You’re going to get the 4,200 employees that come with the PBSO and all the uniforms. And, when those times come, you’re going to get what you can see, and what you can’t see. They’re going to be here.”
The town recently signed a new contract with the PBSO that gives Loxahatchee Groves a dedicated corps of deputies for the first time.
Mayor David Browning welcomed all the new deputies to the community, sharing his support and the support of the town to do their jobs moving forward.
“In our 10-year history as a town, we started out with this idea of deputies 24-7 in our town. And at that time, we were approached by your department, and they said, ‘We can give you the same service with less people and just combine you with the Acreage,’” Browning recalled. “It worked very well for us as a young town. Now, we are back to what we originally had thought of with the incorporation… I know you guys are going to do a great job.”
