Public Safety
FDLE Took Over Baxter Case, PPD Tightens Hiring
Pensacola’s police chief says the department added a second polygraph examiner and new background-check software after the arrest of a former part-time officer.
Pensacola Police Chief Eric Winstrom says his department has changed how it screens new officers following the arrest of former part-time officer Matt Baxter, who faces charges including possession of child sexual abuse material and voyeurism.
- Winstrom appeared on Rick’s Blog Live to discuss the Oct. 26 arrest by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. FDLE served a search warrant on Baxter’s home and computer after he had been arrested earlier on a drug possession charge.
FDLE Ran the Investigation
The case began as a narcotics investigation. Once it shifted to the sexual material allegations, Winstrom said, FDLE handled the entire probe. That left him with questions he could not get answered, so his first priority was making sure no victim went unidentified.
“I knew from the moment that I was in communication with FDLE that the public has a right to know.”
The investigation is still ongoing. Based on what he has learned from FDLE and local schools, Winstrom said the evidence so far points to one individual. He stressed that Baxter’s charges do not include the sexual abuse of a child.
- Parents were alarmed because Baxter had worked security at A.K. Suter Elementary and at Echo Life Church. Winstrom acknowledged those fears but said he has no indication a child in the city was victimized.
Winstrom said he pushed for immediate disclosure. After FDLE called to say Baxter was being taken into custody, the department held a press conference within about 90 minutes. He said bringing in FDLE, which also reviews cases involving the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, gave the case an independent set of eyes.
- At that press conference, Winstrom acknowledged that a polygraph test was missing from Baxter’s personnel file.
What Has Changed
- Social media screening. PPD now uses Guardian software, which scans an applicant’s social media history, including deleted accounts, and checks whether the person has applied to other agencies nationwide.
- Second polygraph examiner. The department had one examiner when Winstrom was hired. A retiree has returned, so two examiners can now review each readout independently and say whether they agree.
Winstrom said the bar is intentionally high. PPD regularly turns away candidates who are probably hirable, he said, and he wants the agency to be “the gold standard of policing.”
“Monsters among us.” Drawing on his past work as a child abuse investigator and supervisor of a child sex crimes team in what he described as the country’s second-biggest police department, Winstrom said offenders can keep up a facade for years. He said he took part in arrests of police officers, clergy, teachers and doctors who had cleared background checks. About 170 PPD officers knew Baxter, he said, and everyone was shocked.
