Ormond Beach Police honors L. Gale Lemerand, police foundation for continued support

Lemerand was one of the first people to show significant support to the Ormond Beach Police Foundation, which has helped the department fund new training, equipment and mental health initiatives.

  • Ormond Beach Observer
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In recognition of over $130,000 in donations, the Ormond Beach Police Department honored the Ormond Beach Police Foundation and local entrepreneur and philanthropist L. Gale Lemerand during a ceremony on Monday, Nov. 3.

Established in 2020, the foundation's donations to OBPD have aided in funding training for officers, as well as new equipment such as ballistic shields, drones, fingerprint scanners and pepperball launchers. It was founded by three former Ormond Beach mayors — Fred Costello, Carl Persis and Ed Kelley — and former City Commissioner Dwight Selby during the beginnings of the nationwide demands to "defund the police."

Lemerand was one of the first people to show significant support to OBPF, said Selby, who serves as president of the foundation. 

"The city has been exemplary in its support of police, but we said there are other things that can be done and should be done that really are beyond what would typically be found in a city budget," Selby said.

Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey said Lemerand's contributions to the foundation have helped OBPD in three areas: education and training, technology, and mental health and wellness.

Godfrey said the latter has been the most critical, and includes initiatives like the department's Compassion Fund, which enables officers to lend a helping hand to people in the community as well as families of fallen officers, as was the case with the late Officer Michael Bakaysa; thanks to the foundation, his wife received a $5,000 donation. 

The Compassion Fund, Godfrey explained, came from hearing about officers putting forth their own money to help others in need, like a family who ran out of gas money or an individual in need of a hotel room for the night.

"As a police chief, those are the stories I love to tell about the men and women that work here," Godfrey said. 

Most recently, the OBPF helped the department purchase a new golf cart, which will be used for community outreach events. 

"There's no question that public safety is the number one priority of any city or county," Selby said. "If you can't make your community safe, who wants to live there?"

Lemerand agreed, and said he was honored to see all who came to the ceremony at the police department. 

"I do support the police and I'm willing to do everything I can to show that I support the police department," he said.

 

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