Gov. DeSantis gives $2M to police, firefighter groups to aid officers victimized by Hurricane Ian

Rod DeSantis can expect federal scrutiny on how he paid for migrant flights.

Four police and firefighter groups helping officers and members affected by Hurricane Ian recover from the storm will receive $2 million from the Florida Disaster Fund to aid those efforts, Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

The Florida Sheriff’s Association, the Florida Fraternal Order of Police, the Florida Police Benevolent Association and the Florida Professional Firefighters will each receive $500,000 from the fund, the state’s private charitable organization.

DeSantis has touted it as a way for the state to work with other nonprofits to help victims of Ian, since state and federal efforts can sometimes get tied up in red tape. Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis has led efforts to raise money for the disaster fund, which is administered by Volunteer Florida, and has brought in $45 million.

The groups will put the money toward helping officers and firefighters whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Ian. DeSantis acknowledged that while Thursday’s donation won’t likely meet all of their needs, there’s likely more to come.

“We want to do more,” DeSantis said at an event in Punta Gorda. “This is not the end from the Volunteer Florida and the Florida Disaster Fund perspective.”

Representatives of the organizations receiving the funds said the money will go to help officers and emergency workers responding to the storm who also have damaged homes.

“I have so many officers who suffered great loss, where they no longer have their houses, but they still come,” said Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummel.

Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida on Sept. 28 as a Category 4 storm, bringing damaging winds and a massive storm surge, which led to more than 100 deaths in Florida.

DeSantis announced earlier this week that temporary patches to bridges connecting Pine Island and Sanibel Islands to the mainland will allow traffic to reach those areas for the first time since the storm. Only vehicles carrying emergency crews and equipment will be allowed over the Sanibel Causeway, though, but civilian traffic can resume on Oct. 24.