Good Morning. Thank you for coming out.

The reason for calling you out here today is so I can tell you about a meeting the five of us had, yesterday.

Pastor Griffin, Mr. Rumlin, Mr. Staton and Dr. Hallett and I agree that we will continue to engage in dialogue on the issue that is of concern to all of us:
Use of force by officers in confrontations with violent suspects. And specifically, what we can all do to help the community gain a better understanding of what is going on – both during these incidents and in the investigations that follow.

I want to be very clear about this, so this doesn't get misreported.

The RESPONSE TO RESISTANCE process of this agency is not going to be compromised. It is perhaps the best model for a fact finding, expert-based police investigative procedure in the country. And it protects both the rights of the Officers and the dignity of the memory of the suspects, in the event of a fatal shooting.

Recently we all participated in a panel discussion on WJCT's First Coast Forum. Following that broadcast, we agreed to follow up that event with a meeting to discuss ways to help the community better understand this issue more completely. This was good idea. Our agency is committed to continuous improvement, and having ongoing dialogue will serve us all very well.

I know that many people in this community "GET THIS" issue. They know about the rise in the number of criminals with guns, and the rise in the frequency of shootings at police. There is NOT AN INCREASE IN VIOLENT CRIME, but a rise in the use of guns by suspects and specifically the use of guns and weapons by suspects against citizens and police.

Citizens in these affected neighborhoods APPRECIATE the way this agency deploys its men and women so they can be in that breach between the unarmed citizen and the violent criminal activity. Operation Safe Streets is specifically designed to put MORE officers in that breach, between the gun toting criminal and the unarmed citizen.

I also know that informed, caring and rational people can come to consensus about ways to help people know more. Help our process become even more transparent – or learn the many facets of an issue. That is what we are all talking about, together.

We believe that we have an obligation to help citizens develop an informed opinion about what is really happening on the streets of Jacksonville. And what is causing it.

We want to raise the collective conscious of this community so the actions of police are more clearly understood – and the need for law abiding citizens to HELP us get people to LAY DOWN the illegal guns and get the people using them off our streets.

One thing we talked about yesterday is the possibility of showing the Response to Resistance board meetings in streaming video on our website each month. Naturally, we have some issues to work out, with regards to protecting the transmission of the images of undercover officers….but we'll work through that.

I fought, in circuit court, to keep those meetings open to the public, and will continue to work to help people understand what the process means.

Another fact that is often overlooked is the value of the Response to Resistance process. It puts our training programs and policies under a microscope and forces us to look at possible ways to improve both. In the coming months I will make these board recommendations more widely known. There have been a number of times we've remanded an Officer to complete additional training, or changed an operating procedure. Few ever know or remember those cases – or the moves to terminate two individuals, just since I've been Sheriff.

You probably didn't know about the presence of the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission at some of our RTR hearings. I am pledging to communicate these activities to the public.

I think our website will emerge as our best communications tool for the public on this matter and encourage you all to visit it, at coj.net/sheriff. We'll let the media know as progress is made by this group.

Thank you, all for your attention and concern. Gentlemen?