An excerpt from the book, “Pensacola’s Finest,” available on Amazon
By Mike Simmons
It was an old building. The roof leaked, and the old carpet smelled. Most of it, the old jail, was no longer used. Since the U. S. Navy’s Shore Patrol had vacated the north part of the building, it wasn’t being used either. The location, 40 South Alcaniz Street, offered little room for vehicles, and the location was in a floodplain. In addition, the new demands for the department called for a new building design (more room needed for the Communication section, Investigations, etc.) It was time for a new one. In October 1987, officers and movers worked quickly relocating to the new building at 711 North Hayne Street. For the past couple of years, many minds joined to create, design, and build the new building. The new, modern building offered roomier offices, a state-of-the-art communications section, a quality training section, and a first-rate Patrol section. On February 5, 2019, the author interviewed one of the officers who was crucial in bringing about the building of the police station on Hayne Street. Lt. Charlie DeCosta was born on December 16, 1941, in Jacksonville. In 1959, Charlie found himself stationed onboard an aircraft carrier in Pensacola. In 1963, civilian DeCosta returned to Pensacola and began looking for a career-worthy job. He got offers to interview with the postal service and with the police department. He chose to become a police officer and began his 31-year career on August 5, 1967. In his 31-year career. In the early 1980s, the need for a new police headquarters arose. It was determined that the cost to build a new building would be less than to remodel the old one. Charlie was chosen by Chief Goss to input his ideas and opinions on how the new building should be designed. Finally, the department relocated to the new, 31,000 sf, $2 million building designed by Donald Lindsey and built by the Norton-DelGallo Construction Company. It was truly a practical building to be proud of, with a lot of thought put into the location of the crime scene garage, offices and adjacent meeting rooms, communication centers, etc.
