On the Job

Working in the Lee County Sheriff’s Office can be a little hectic. Hundreds of phone calls, e-mails and other requests from residents and the nearly 1,400 employees in the sheriff’s office come in each week. It’s up to Brandy Cartaino, the good-natured administrative assistant to Sheriff Mike Scott, to manage them—as well as keep track of the sheriff’s various commitments.

What are your daily duties?
I am in charge of setting up appointments with the sheriff and organizing his calendar, which includes scheduling appearances and speaking engagements. The phone is always ringing. I field up to 1,000 calls each week.

What are some of the strangest calls you’ve received?
One was around Easter time. One of our employees dressed up as the Easter bunny, and she went with our chief in the parade convertible that we have to the children’s hospital [to visit patients]. Some guy had the audacity to call me and complain that we were wasting taxpayers’ money. Then he complained that we caused a bunch of accidents, when there were no accidents.

How did you get your start at the sheriff’s office?
During high school I worked the summers [here] to have spending money, and because my parents worked here.

Which departments have you worked in?
I’ve worked in evidence and narcotics and was in charge of Crime Stoppers for a time. Before becoming Sheriff Scott’s administrative assistant [in 2005], I worked for the tip line.

Which did you enjoy the most?
I loved working in narcotics. I answered a lot of the phone calls about drug deals, and occasionally they would take us out on the search warrants. Of course, we would have to sit in the car until they actually busted down the door, but then we would go in the house and be the evidence collectors.

Any desire to go back to doing that in the future?
I absolutely love what I’m doing now. [It’s] one of those jobs that even when you’re on vacation, you can’t wait to get back to work.

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