From the Apopka Police Department and Staff Reports
The Apopka Police Department added two new officers to its police force Monday.
APD Officer Shelby Smith is 33-years-old, and was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. Smith graduated from Cornerstone Christian School in 2009.
Smith never served in the military, however she is a military spouse to her husband Chris who retired from the United States Air Force. Shelby and Chris have six children and one grandson.
Smith’s hobbies include fishing, working out, going to the beach, shopping, kayaking, biking, painting, and spending time with family and friends.
She attended her police academy training at Lake Tech Community College where she graduated last month.
"There are several reasons why I got into law enforcement," Smith said. "I’ve always had a passion for protecting and serving the people I care about and I want to extend that to my community. The world we are living in now isn’t the same as it used to be. I want to be highly trained and equipped to be able to help others in the time of need. I can remember the exact moment I knew I wanted to be in law enforcement. I was in the 9th grade and my school had an anti-human trafficking seminar and in that moment, I knew exactly what God’s calling was for my life. Unfortunately, when I graduated high school my career plans got derailed and I started a family. My family became my priority and my dream career took a backseat. I’m thrilled to finally start this career and I’m hoping one day to be a part of the Special Victims Unit or an Anti-Human Trafficking Unit."
APD Officer Giovanni “Gio” Dellgrottaglia is 22-years-old and was born in Albany, New York. Dellgrottaglia was raised in Eustis, where he graduated from Eustis High School in 2020.
Dellgrottaglia is currently serving in the United States Marine Corps Reserves at the 4th Amphibious Assault Battalion located in Tampa. He has been a U.S. Marine for three years and plans to continue to serve in the reserves. His hobbies include running, lifting weights, and recreational shooting of firearms.
Dellgrottaglia’s police academy training was at Lake Tech Community College where he graduated in 2022. He was employed with the Orlando Police Department for approximately a year before he came to work for the Apopka Police Department.
"I truly enjoy helping people and I want to make a positive impact on peoples lives and the community," he said. "I joined the Marine Corps to give me a better skill set to help and defend the people I am sworn to serve."
“We are excited to have Officer Smith and Officer Dellgrottagglia join the Apopka Police Department," said Apopka Police Chief Mike McKinley. "Officer Dellgrotagglia comes to us with previous law enforcement experience and Officer Smith just graduated from the academy. I know they both are ready to begin their field training program so they can begin serving our community. We still have vacancies for full time police officers, so if anyone is interested in a career in law enforcement we would love to hear from them. This is a great place to work and a there is no better community than Apopka to serve.”
In the fiscal year beginning October 1st, 2023, the APD is authorized 132 sworn law enforcement positions. With the addition of Smith and Dellgrotagglia it is at 112.
According to McKinley, the APD still has five individuals that have been given conditional employment offers. They will be sponsored, by the APD to attend the next Valencia School of Public Safety Law Enforcement Academy which begins in January 2024.
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