NYC law enforcement couple moves to Florida, knew they’d be ‘supported’
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody spoke with two law enforcement officers that made the move to Florida from New York recently as part of her “Sunshine Salute Sit-Down Series.”
“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. “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.”
Tampa International Airport officers Angeliesse and Mike Nestwerwitz grew up in the Empire State and got married while they served the New York City Police Department.
In the present, they both work at the Tampa airport.
“We really just taking a look at where we thought we’d be most supported,” Angeliesse Nesterwitz said. “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.”
Mike Nestwerwitz said Florida has a strong presence of “community policing” where interactions between law enforcement and citizens are key.
“The main thing is interacting and speaking to all the travelers. Travelers are nervous when you fly, everyone gets nervous,” he said. “So I think just our presence helps them.”
“We’re hoping that friends of yours back home that, maybe in law enforcement, will take a look at BeAFloridaHero.com – that they might follow in your footsteps,” Moody said.
Moody’s office noted in a press release that officers who move to Florida have a strong slate of incentives:
- A $5,000 recruitment bonus
- A $1,000 allotment toward basic training, and more for equivalency training costs
- Up to $25,000 in down payment assistance
- Up to $25,000 for officers that adopt a child from Florida’s system
- Being exempt from basic prerequisites for veterans and applicants with an associate degree or higher to enter a basic recruit training program
- School choice scholarships
The attorney general’s office created the program in 2021.
Moody also spoke with a former New Hampshire officer who moved to Florida, calling his trip a “no brainer.”
