DeSantis hands out 4,000th bonus to law enforcement recruits
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis handed out the 4,000th bonus to a law enforcement recruit on Tuesday at the Florida Sheriff’s Association Winter Conference.
“Almost 400 of the 4,000 come from just three states: New York, California and Illinois,” DeSantis said. “You probably would have guessed that.”
The latest round of bonuses comes under the Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program.
According to the Florida Department of Commerce, the state has spent more than $27 million toward bringing in new law enforcement from other states.
“I am proud to award the 4,000th bonus check to newly recruited officers who have chosen to bring their talents to Florida,” DeSantis said. “As the Biden Border Crisis rages on and fentanyl continues to flow over our southern border, it is more important now than ever to support our law enforcement agencies with the funding and support they need to protect our communities.”
The check totals $5,000 for each officer.
The governor presented the 4,000th bonus to Bay County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Belthrop, who moved from Virginia.
DeSantis’ office boasted that recruits from other states not only are eligible for the bonus check, but also other retirement benefits, student loan forgiveness, home loans and more.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has also been promoting law enforcement moving from blue areas, like New York, to Florida.
“We are seeing a lot of New York’s finest leave the Empire State and head to Florida—more than 230 since July 2022,” Moody said in December 2023. “I recently met two of these new Florida heroes, and I am excited to help tell their love story—for each other and the great state of Florida.”
“We really just taking a look at where we thought we’d be most supported,” said Angeliesse Nesterwitz, formerly in the New York Police Department. “In our other agency, we weren’t that supported, and we knew that if we came to Florida, we were gonna be supported in the policies, we were gonna be supported by the community.”
She said in Florida, she’s frequently been approached by residents thankful for her service.
“[That] was kind of unheard of where we used to work,” she said. “That was like our number one reason when we looked at all the states of where we should move to – Florida was number one on the list just because of that alone.”
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