Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno is under public scrutiny after his storm response, but many residents are leaping to the sheriff’s defense on social media.
Florida cities in Lee County along the Sunshine State’s west coast received the brunt of the damage from Hurricane Ian, and now the county’s sheriff’s office is receiving public scrutiny as well as praise as it responds to pleas for help and clean-up efforts.
Ian ravaged Lee County last week when the storm made landfall as a slow-moving Category 4 hurricane. Sea levels surged to nearly 12 feet in parts of the county, destroying buildings and killing many. Search-and-rescue operations are still ongoing in areas like Fort Myers Beach as officials start to clean up the damage left behind.
Hurricane Ian, currently, has claimed 76 lives in Florida and four more in South Carolina, where the hurricane resurged after exiting Florida and curled through the Atlantic. The death count is rising as officials continue search-and-rescue operations throughout the state.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is documenting the devastation, and social media posts are receiving many appreciative messages from the public in response.
