Army veteran and police officer, partners in fighting crime in Ocala's toughest community

OCALA, Fla. – They are an unlikely team: a recently hired police officer from Tanzania and an Army veteran born and raised in Ocala, working together to combat crime in one of the city's toughest places – the Berkeley Pointe Apartments.

Shootings and stabbings have occurred in Berkeley Pointe for years, in some cases involving children.

And News 6 has reported repeated unsuccessful efforts to combat crime and violence.

Community volunteer Myles McConico and Ocala Police Officer Patrick Uronu promise this time will be different.

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After serving his country, McConico told his mayor he wanted to serve his city.

Mayor Ben Marciano connected McConico with Ocala Police Chief Mike Strahl. Beam agreed to send McConico to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Community Policing Training Program along with Officer Uronu.

After completing the week-long program, McConico and Uronu agreed to tackle Berkeley Pointe first.

“All we had was no one saying anything,” Uronu said. “And we just wanted to change that. This place is not negative, this place is positive. We just need a little help to change the perception of what people think about this place.”

What will be different this time?

“We really want to inspire hope in this area, and that means consistency. Stick to the plan,” McConico said. “And that means showing up and being visible and continuing to help, whether it be directly or indirectly or from a distance. With support, whatever it may be. That support will be there.”

They both come to Berkeley Pointe every day. They get out of their cars, walk and talk to find out what the neighbors need and what would get results – because so far nothing and no one has really made a difference.

They have the support of the mayor and police, and when residents demand additional patrols, lighting, cameras or anything else, community policing partners try to deliver. They have already activated all the surveillance cameras in the complex.

“Officer Uronu is outside and walking around and is visible,” McConico said. “He engages and interacts with the residents here in Berkeley Pointe and plays soccer with the youth as soon as they get off the school buses. Building that relationship is all about building relationships and showing that you care.”

Uronu said people always went in when he pulled up.

“How do I change this?” Uronu said. “It's about making physical contact with each individual. Before we started this program, I came here and everyone was running to their houses. But since we started doing this, everyone runs to me as soon as they see me.”

Uronu said the new community policing program is too new to say whether it reduces crime, but he has noticed neighbors are more open with information.

“We want to solve a crime because people are actually willing to come to us,” Uronu said.

What have they done so far?

“We held a back-to-school drive, we held an anti-violence rally, we held a community beautification day and held a residents meeting,” McConico said.

The day they raffled off a backpack in the middle of the complex, McConico said the community manager was surprised that something happened that hadn't happened in years: people showed up.

What is McConico and Uronu's long-term plan for Berkley Pointe?

“The long-term plan is for Berkeley to become an apartment complex where people who need a fresh start in life can get back on their feet here and have the security to do so,” McConico said. “You don’t have to worry about someone robbing or stealing your hard-earned items. Or a bullet going through the floor or wall.”

Uronu said the long-term plan for the community policing program is to replicate any successes in Berkeley Pointe and apply them to other hot spots throughout Ocala.