‘Sheriff, are you there?’ See radio hosts’ confusion as sheriff chases suspect on air

Two radio hosts were baffled when they tried to speak with a Florida sheriff for an on-air interview, but all they heard was the chatter of a police radio.

“Sheriff, are you there?” Drew Garabo, host of Drew Garabo Live, a talk show based in St. Petersburg, says into his microphone as he tries to reach Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood, according to a video of the incident shared on the Volusia Sheriff’s Office Facebook page on Feb. 28.

As the radio chatter and static sounds in the background, the hosts try to figure out what’s happening to their guest.

“Dude, there is something going on,” co-host John Senning says.

After a few chaotic minutes, Chitwood’s voice comes on over the radio.

“We’re good, we’re good,” he says before explaining that he was just chasing a fleeing suspect down Interstate 95.

Chitwood later told McClatchy News that he was in his cruiser getting ready to go on air for the interview about his response to recent anti-Semitic incidents in his county when he heard a call come over his radio about a suspect being chased.

He said he went into “police mode” and didn’t think about the fact that he was still on the line with the radio hosts.

“I said, ‘You’re getting old. You forgot that you were on hold with a radio station and you just went right into policing mode,’” he said.

The sheriff and troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol caught the suspect, who had been driving recklessly and drove toward a police officer, making him “dive out of the way,” according to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol.

The suspect was arrested and booked into the Volusia County Jail on multiple counts, including reckless driving, fleeing with disregard of safety to persons or property, fleeing to elude law enforcement at a high speed, fail to obey police or fire officials, grand theft of a motor vehicle, obstruction without violence and grand theft of a firearm, according to the report.

The radio hosts didn’t seem bothered by the interruption.

“This is like Live PD,” Senning said, referring to a documentary TV series that follows police departments around the U.S.

Once the sheriff re-joined the call, the hosts continued with their interview about Chitwood’s stance on extremist groups operating in his county, who he called “scumbags.”

His comments came after a white supremacist, neo-Nazi hate group called the Goyim Defense League spread hateful propaganda in neighborhoods, draped banners across a highway overpass and projected hateful messages onto the Daytona International Speedway, a racetrack in Daytona Beach, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. The Goyim Defense League is a “small network of virulently antisemitic provocateurs” whose leader lives in Florida, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

“I viewed this as an attack, an invasion in my community,” Chitwood told McClatchy News. “An attack on people who I golf with, people I see in restaurants, who I see at Publix.”

Chitwood also received personal death threats from the group, he said, including messages that they would “put a bullet” in his head, hack his computer or “dox” him online, meaning publicly revealing his personal information. He held a news conference on Feb. 27 with law enforcement officials, legislators and faith leaders to address the incidents.

“You came to the wrong county,” Chitwood said of the hate groups in a statement. “I stand with my Jewish friends, and I’m honored to be on your hit list. It’s an honor to be sought after by a bunch of punk thugs like you. That’s my personal message.”

For host Garabo, Chitwood’s comments combined with the on-air police chase made for a successful radio show, he tweeted.

“This was an incredible moment yesterday,” Garabo wrote on Twitter. “We were about to speak to @VolusiaSheriff @SheriffChitwood about his fantastic comments against the neo-Nazi dweebs when an unexpected incident broke out… Check it out!”

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