The idea of working for the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office first occurred to Corporal Fred Porter when he was in middle school during a chance meeting with the Sheriff. The Sheriff took the time to talk with Fred about his life and to stress the importance of finishing high school and staying out of trouble. When that same Sheriff bumped into Fred Porter years later, Corporal Porter was amazed that the Sheriff not only remembered his name, but asked about circumstances that they had discussed years earlier. “That experience had an significant impact on me,” states Corporal Porter.

Today Corporal Porter is the one making an impact on kids and communities throughout the county. He was one of the first Community Resource Deputies in the Nuccio community, an area where problems with drugs and shootings abound. “I grew up there and because I knew the residents of that community, they helped me out by letting me know what was really going on. This is the heart of my agency’s community policing philosophy: We have to know our communities, and to earn people’s trust in order to earn their support.”

Corporal Porter strives to show law enforcement in a positive light, engaging kids in conversations about drugs and gun safety, and creating school programs such as Student Crime Watch. He also co-founded “Cops in the Community” through which officers spend time visiting with kids in elementary schools. “I am a community-oriented person,” states Corporal Porter. “I don’t want kids to see me as just the ‘FBI guy’. I want them to think of me as someone they can talk easily with about their problems, and someone who is willing to help them.”

And sometimes, Corporal Porter says, “ I find myself giving the kids guidance in the same simple way it was given to me: finish high school and stay out of trouble.”