Chief David Newlan introduced the ‘Citizen Commendable Action Coin’ to recognize citizens that go above and beyond. The recipient is presented with the coin, along with a card explaining the following:

“Thank You For Your Commendable Action. On behalf of the Cape Coral Police Department, please accept this Challenge Coin in appreciation of your positive actions that make this community GREAT!

The Citizen Commendable Action Challenge Coin is given by an Officer of the Cape Coral Police Department to a civilian that performs an extraordinary act(s) or in the recognition of exemplary behavior.”

On June 4, 2019, around 7:06 pm, Cape Coral Police responded to an address on SE 12th Ter in reference to a call for service. A concerned citizen had called CCPD to report that a male had been swimming in the canal behind their home for an extended period of time, and was refusing to come out of the water and was not acting rationally.

Upon Officer arrival, they saw the male in the middle of the canal. The male was acting strangely and was not willing to swim to shore. The male was out of range of the rescue rope and he started saying he could not swim to the officers as the current was too strong. A citizen, Florian Mickuleit, was in the area delivering a rental boat and offered to pilot the boat to allow us to attempt to rescue the male. Officers boarded the boat and Mr. Mickuleit piloted the boat to the center of the canal and, with the aid of the rescue rope, Officers were able to bring the exhausted male onboard.

Lee County Emergency Medical Services were standing by and transported the male to a local hospital.

The Citizen Commendable Action Coin was presented to Mr. Mickuleit for his services in assisting Officers in rescuing a citizen in need. Mr. Mickuleit’s actions allowed the male to be rescued far quicker than would have otherwise been possible and possibly prevented the male from drowning.