Most of the problems she polices are substance abuse-related, Kelley Butterfield says.
By EMILY SISELL
USFSP Student Reporter
ST. PETERSBURG – The smell of alcohol was radiating from a 61-year-old man who was threatening his brother with a hammer.
“I don’t drink water because the lord is my fountain,” the man declared.
Officer Kelley Butterfield and three other officers assessed the situation for about an hour, then took the man into custody on charges of aggravated assault.
That was one of the encounters that Butterfield, a first-year officer in the St. Petersburg Police Department, had on Nov. 5 as she patrolled District 3, which covers most of west St. Petersburg.
Her other calls that day included a missing person and everyday traffic stops.
“Most problems in this district are self-initiated,” said Butterfield, “as they almost always have to do with substance abuse.”
Other problems like DUIs, domestic abuse, and drug crimes are what fill the majority of her days.
The 24-year-old officer grew up in Clearwater determined to make her father, Deputy James Butterfield of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, proud.
She admired her father’s eventful career. At the dinner table, he almost always had a story about his day.
After graduating from Countryside High School, Butterfield attended USF St. Petersburg and studied biomedical engineering with a minor in forensic anthropology.
She got an associate degree, then decided to switch careers.
Being an adrenaline junkie led her to attend the police academy at the Southeastern Public Safety Institute at St. Petersburg College.
She graduated from the academy in June 2018 and joined the Police Department in January 2019.
Law enforcement is the career she intends to grow in – just like her dad.
“When you come to the face of fear, you look evil in the eyes and say, ‘I’ve been waiting for you,’” said Butterfield. “This is what I live by as today is not the day to die.”