TAMPA, Fla. -- The terrorist attacks of 9/11 caused many people to re-evaluate their relationships, their careers and their priorities.
For Sean Mahabir, that meant trading in a comfortable life as a television producer on national network shows and strapping on a badge and a gun as a police officer.
"(It's) the opportunity to do something that is fulfilling," Mahabir said. "You can go home and sleep at night. You can actually make a difference in someone's life."
In his earlier life, Mahabir worked on programs for the USA Network, Home Shopping Network and Universal Studios in Orlando. He also worked as a television host at HSN.
He had thought about police work in the past, but suddenly the tug of the profession was irresistible.
Mahabir entered the police academy in 2002 and was hired by the Largo Police Department, where he spent five years.
He joined Tampa police a few years ago and is now the community police officer for Ybor City, the city's historic and entertainment district. He was recently named the police department's 2011 Community Officer of the Year.
Spend a few minutes walking with Mahabir along Seventh Avenue and it seems there isn't anyone he doesn't know. A swarm of activity, he keeps contact with business owners, civic leaders, homeowners and visitors to the neighborhood.
He isn't bashful taking a photo with tourists. One recent afternoon, it was with two men and a woman from Holland.
"What is important to me is making a difference," Mahabir said. "There are a lot of facets to being a cop. I would rather get into the community and prevent crime. I want it to be if you see me you shouldn't be afraid to talk to me."
His comfort with an audience might come from his experience on television and commercial sets. Mahabir pursues acting as a hobby. He has been on television shows, including "Burn Notice" and "SeaQuest 2032," and a dozen television commercials, including one for Gillette with professional wrestler John Cena.
Mahabir, who has been working the Ybor City beat just over two years, devised the Ybor City Business Watch.
The program, which was implemented in December, allows business owners to register with the police department and place a membership window sticker with a serial number on their storefront windows. If the business is closed, the serial number allows police to identify a business contact.
He has also created a database with phone numbers and emails to make it easy for Ybor City merchants to contact each other. His goal is to bring people together, including several organizations that represent Ybor City.
"When we become one, we get stronger to prevent crime, to not allow that perception to continue to linger," said Mahabir, who was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago.
Last year, a man set fire to a vacant home. Ybor Environmental Services employees saw the fire and someone walking away from the home. The employees called Mahabir on his cellular phone.
When they gave him a description, Mahabir knew who it was. He found Donald Wayne Neutz in the neighborhood. Neutz was charged with first-degree arson.
Don Barco, owner of King Corona Cigars in Ybor City, calls Mahabir a "supercop."
"That's the way I feel about him," Barco said. "He's giving me peace of mind about being in Ybor City."
Mahabir takes care of the small and big issues, Barco said. He can always be reached and doesn't dismiss a concern, he said.
"He's community-spirited, community-minded. He goes that extra mile," Barco said.
Because of Mahabir's work during the day, the Ybor City Development Corporation, a city organization that represents the business and economic interest of Ybor City, plans to ask the city council to consider a night community officer for the area.
"We need his mirror image on the night shift," Barco said. "People feel a lot safer. We know he's very responsive."
Mahabir said shootings and violence have been a problem, but crime doesn't define Ybor City. When a major crime occurs in Ybor City, the media covers it intensely, leaving the incident in the public's mind, he said.
His goal is to change the area's image, he said.
"Everyone has a perception that it's this horrible place and it is not," Mahabir said. "I think it's my obligation from a police standpoint to help that perception go away."
Copyright 2012 - Tampa Tribune, Fla.
McClatchy-Tribuen News Service
