It has been two years since the incident and he still has nightmares.<\/p>\n
In May 2020, William Koziarz was laying on the beach and listening to music on his phone when he was run over<\/a> by an Indian Shores Police Department Ford Explorer driven by an officer on beach patrol. He said he didn\u2019t even hear the SUV vehicle coming.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a sign on the beach when I walked to the beach that day. It said \u2018No motorized vehicles allowed,\u2019 and 15 minutes later I get ran over by a police vehicle,\u201d Koziarz said.<\/p>\n He spent two weeks in a hospital intensive care unit and his medical bills totaled $450,000, he said. <\/i>Soft tissue separated from his bones in several areas of his body, including from his waist to his knee and from his belly button to his bottom. <\/b>The 68-year-old now walks with a limp and is still in physical therapy. He said he has to exercise two hours a day and takes medications to manage pain.<\/p>\n These types of accidents are rare, but they do happen. In February, a Clearwater police officer ran over a man\u2019s leg while driving a Ford Explorer on the beach. And in May, a Pinellas deputy on beach patrol driving a sheriff\u2019s office Chevrolet Tahoe ran over<\/a> the upper back and right side of a woman laying on St. Pete Beach while on his way to respond to a 911 hangup call.<\/p>\n In Pinellas County, four law enforcement agencies are primarily responsible for patrolling the beaches: the sheriff\u2019s office and police in Clearwater, Treasure Island and Indian Shores.<\/p>\n However, only one of the agencies has a policy broadly limiting the use of law enforcement SUVs on beaches \u2014 Indian Shores, which adopted the policy after Koziarz was run over.<\/p>\n Turtle eggs on the beaches are better protected than people, said John Phillips, a Jacksonville attorney who has represented multiple people run over on Florida beaches.<\/p>\n \u201cWe put (up) sticks and rope off areas so we protect our turtle eggs,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cBut yet we\u2019re going to let beach patrol, lifeguard, police vehicles, janitorial vehicles to drive up and down our beach, not in designated areas.\u201d<\/p>\n After the May 2020 accident that injured Koziarz, Indian Shores Police Chief Rick Swann sent a directive to the agency the next day that suspended use of police SUVs on the beach with the exception of emergencies. The officer involved in the beach accident was suspended for three days without pay.<\/p>\n Now, to patrol the shores, <\/b>the police department uses a one-person ATV and a mule, which is similar to an ATV, but is built for multiple people and has a flatbed. Officers go through training to operate the vehicles.<\/p>\n \u201cThey provide greater visibility when you\u2019re on the beach,\u201d said Indian Shores police spokesperson Capt. Glen Smith. \u201cIt\u2019s easier to get around on the beach as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Subscribe to our free How\u00a0They\u00a0Lived newsletter<\/p>\n You\u2019ll get a remembrance of Tampa Bay residents we\u2019ve lost, including heartwarming and amusing details about their lives, every Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/div>
Agency Policies<\/h2>\n
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Read inspiring stories about ordinary lives<\/h2>\n