Meet Fred Shinn. He’s a long time volunteer of Sedona’s Police Department and the Founder of SPD’s Field Support Unit. The FSU team is responsible for assisting SPD with arrests and prisoner transports to and from county detention facilities. They also pick up non-violent subjects arrested on Sedona warrants by outside agencies within a range of 150 miles.
Thank you, Fred, for your authentic selfless service for the community and for your love for Sedona.
Fred will tell you that He enjoyed so many of the things he has been involved in.
What I like the most is helping our law enforcement here in Sedona. I started this 15 years ago. Starting this program with volunteers to assist men in blue, has been the most rewarding thing I have ever done and something which I will always cherish.
Fred has been a help to local police by transporting prisoners… we asked him what it’s like to do this?
It’s more than driving a police car to transport prisoners. We wanted to allow the sworn officers to spend time doing what he’s paid to do – and that is protecting us. So the volunteer group decided that it was time to take those things which were time consuming and could be done by someone else, off of their plate. And one of them, unique to Sedona, was transporting prisoners to our three facilities. Transporting a prisoner can take three hours.
Fred is a very social and involved person.. he loves our restaurants… I asked him, ‘What is your favorite restaurant in Sedona? Here’s what he said:
My favorite restaurant in Sedona, because I have so much fun there, besides having good food is Steakhouse 89. It’s a new restaurant and their beef is excellent but they have a lot of other interesting items on the menu. I also recently found this place called The Vault that I really enjoy. The Hudson has long been a favorite of mine and still is. Mesa Grill is also one that I enjoy. We have so many restaurants here that are easy to get to and have great food.
Fred has been here for 15 years…
He moved here from Marco Island, FL. ‘One afternoon I was sitting there, near the water in Marco Island. I said to my wife that we have to do something different before we can’t. I said that I don’t want to go some place like South Carolina or around Florida, let’s do something different, then I came up with Sedona.’
I asked Fred…Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Sedona?
A: ‘That is such an easy question. About 6 almost 7 years ago, I met a wonderful woman, , Terrie Frankel. She is a Doublemint Twin, a US performer, she does so much for our veterans here. She’s a lifetime member of the Marine Corps League. Terrie does so much for Sedona, so many things. I find her the most fascinating.’
Knowing Fred is such a treat, as he is always upbeat, fun and truly interested in People… Spending time with Fred Shinn is always a delight
Jonelle klein
