GPD Sgt Nick Ferrara honored by Attorney General Ashley Moody

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Detective Sergeant Nick Ferrara of the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) was recognized on May 23 at the “Law Enforcement of the Year Award Ceremony” held at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee. Although Sgt. Ferrara did not win the award, he was one of eight nominees who were recognized by Attorney General Moody for going above and beyond the call of duty.

The Florida Retail Foundation nominated Ferrara for the Attorney General’s 2022 Officer of the Year award because he was selected as the 2022 Florida Retail Federation Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.

Ferrara has over 25 years of experience at GPD and has worked in patrol operations, Rifle Team, SWAT, Criminal Investigations, and as a Traffic Homicide Investigator. Since 2015, he has worked as the Detective Sergeant over the Financial and Organized Crimes Unit within the Special Operations Unit. He has been heavily involved in multiple large-scale investigations involving organized retail crime, ATM/gas pump skimming, check fraud, credit card fraud, identity theft, counterfeiting, quick-change artists, and many others.

Ferrara is most known for his proficiency in using facial recognition technology: he has made over 1,000 identifications of witnesses, offenders, and victims and has been nicknamed “The Wizard” because of his skill with the various tools. Some of his most notable identifications have been offenders involved in murder, serial rapists, international organized crime, large-scale credit card fraud, and countless multi-million-dollar schemes; he has assisted hundreds of law enforcement agencies, retailers, and financial institutions with facial recognition identifications.

Ferrara also participates in Shop with a Cop, Silver Santa, Coffee with a Cop, and other community events.