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Published on Wednesday, July 30, 2003
in the Port St. Lucie News
The lieutenant's pager went off again.
There was a wreck on Interstate 95 in one of his six counties, and he was off to the scene.
Sitting on the roof of his Florida Highway Patrol cruiser -- with his feet on the ground -- 7-foot tall Pembrook Burrows III gave the scoop to reporters in the blistering hot Martin County sun.
It was another day on the job for the FHP's public information officer who is technically on call all the time.
"This is the only job I've had to shave and shower every morning and have the uniform hanging on the door," the 54-year-old lieutenant says.
After 31 years with the FHP, the public face of the highway patrol on the Treasure Coast is ready to turn off the pager for a life of fishing, relaxing and doing pretty much whatever he wants.
"The biggest thing I'm gonna miss is being on call 24/7 ... the 2 o'clock in the morning pages," he says with a loud laugh from a soft-spoken guy.
After all, he could have been rich and famous.
Burrows played basketball alongside the legendary Artis Gilmore on the Jacksonville University Dolphins squad that made it to the NCAA Final Four in the early 70s. He was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in the NBA and the Miami Floridians in the American Basketball Association.
But he took a shot at another aspiration -- becoming a trooper -- a switch he swears he never regretted.
"I still don't," he said. "This was an ambition, something I wanted to do."
For the past nine years, Burrows has been the media's man to call -- sometimes several times a day --as Troop L's public information officer, or PIO.
He's the guy on the 10 p.m. television news talking about holiday traffic safety. He also works with public safety groups and promotes FHP activities throughout the state. "PIO, either you love it or hate it," he said. "It changes minute to minute."
Things have sure changed since he began patrolling Pensacola in 1972.
Back in the day, he said, the thrill of chases and the weirdest calls got him up in the morning.
"There were a lot of chases," he said. "When I was young and full of energy, it was fun."
In his 1970s-souped up 440 Interceptor, he once sped after a stolen vehicle on I-10. "It was funny. I passed all the other agencies," he said. "By the time the other agencies got there, we had him handcuffed and on the ground. Today, we wouldn't even chase you."
Troopers now have a strict policy against pursuits in all but the most violent of cases -- rules Burrows says are much safer.
He was promoted from trooper to sergeant traffic homicide investigator where he says he faced one of the hardest parts of the job -- notifying families their loved one had been killed in an auto accident.
"The shock sets in. Most of the time they don't hear what I said," he said. "That's the toughest part of the job."
But he also remembers saving a woman with CPR after her vehicle had crashed. And in all his career, he's never been shot at or had to shoot anyone. Burrows eventually joined the ranks of the FHP's public information officers, responsible for Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and Broward counties. "It's a different side of law enforcement. It's not enforcement, its educating," he said. And while he'll miss it and the people he worked with, he never really plans to leave. After some traveling, learning to play golf and computer classes for fun, Burrows said he would surely join the FHP volunteer troopers and continue safety programs with civic organizations and his church.
He officially retires on Thursday.
Burrows put on the FHP's trademark tan uniform one more time for one of his last interviews.
And it's "sad in one part, happy in others," he says, knowing he won't have to "be on call anymore, not to wear a uniform every day."
"It's been a great career."