Jacksonville, FL – The Jacksonville community joined together for a vigil on Tuesday, June 11, to honor the life of 36-year-old Justin Knight. The community joined Knight 's family and friends around the newly rebuilt Friendship Fountain in downtown Jacksonville. Loved ones, along with community members, shared about Knight's life while also demanding answers about his death.

Justin Knight's death raises the ever present concern about the lack of accountability for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO). On March 30, Knight was arrested for allegedly trespassing. He was booked into the county jail at 1:40 a.m., and at 4:20 a.m. he was admitted to UF Health (Shands) Hospital by JSO. Justin was unconscious at the time he was admitted and was immediately placed on life support.

It took JSO almost two days to notify Knight's family that he was on life support, and once they were notified, their visitations were limited until Knight was bonded out. On April 1, Knight was bonded out, and his family discovered his body was badly bruised. While JSO claims that Knight was revived both at the jail and at the ER, his medical records indicate he had multiple organ failures upon arrival at UF Health Hospital. Knight did not regain consciousness, and he died on April 6.

Knight's loved ones are seeking answers from JSO about how an alleged trespassing charge led to the loss of a man's life. Community members at the vigil echoed the family's sentiments and expressed that if JSO is not held accountable for their treatment of Justin Knight, they will simply continue this harm on others.

Maria Garcia of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee said, “They will do what they did to Justin to other people's children. Justin was someone's son. He was somebody's father, somebody's brother. He was a valued and cherished member of the community. And he was taken away senselessly because JSO acts and behaves like they are above the law.”

The Jacksonville community is demanding answers from Sheriff T.K. Waters. Local community groups urge concerned citizens to contact the sheriff asking for answers surrounding the death of Justin Knight. The family, along with the community, plan to continue their demand for justice until JSO is held accountable for their behavior.

The JCAC has called for the creation of Public Safety Committee to have civilian oversight of JSO for cases such as this.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #InJusticeSystem #PoliceBrutality #KillerCops #JSO #JCAC

Jacksonville, FL – Jacksonville residents angered with Governor Ron DeSantis' handling of the pandemic and other issues showed up to make their voices heard on Tuesday morning, January 4, just before the governor was scheduled to conduct a press conference in Jacksonville.

Ben Frazier, a seasoned civil rights activist with the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville (NCOJ) and pioneering Black journalist, stood in the room inside the state office building where the governor was due to speak and ended up in a heated exchange with some of the governor’s aides. Other activists present included members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC), Florida Rising, Jacksonville Progressive Coalition and other community members.

As a uniformed policeman stood by, the facilities manager stepped in and requested to see everyone's press credentials. The facilities manager claimed that while the press conference was being held in a state building, they did private business in some places and ordered everyone who was not with the media to leave the room or face being trespassed from the property. The gathered activists and community members vocally objected, stating that they would not leave.

Maria Garcia, an organizer with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee was one of those in attendance who said they came to voice their concerns and ask the governor some questions. She spoke up during the exchange with Frazier and Governor DeSantis' aide, saying, “We’re here representing the community that y’all have let suffer because you keep ignoring this pandemic. And that’s really what’s disrespectful. And I’m sorry that we’re being disruptive or whatever. But it’s been disruptive to our lives. The fact that we’re here having to go to work, don’t know if we’re going to catch COVID, don’t know if we have it, can’t get tested, all the funds are drying up. There’s no state facilities to get tested. That’s disrespectful. That’s why we’re here.”

The tense discussion continued until Frazier was led out of the building in handcuffs and placed in a police cruiser.

Before Frazier was handcuffed, aides took away the podium and other items for the news conference, prompting a chant from the audience: “When it comes to public welfare, this governor does not care.” As he was handcuffed, Frazier and activists repeated the chant. After the removal of activists and other community members, DeSantis held a news conference with state health officials elsewhere in the building.

Individuals recorded the encounter with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, and confirmed Frazier was being charged with trespass after warning, a misdemeanor offense. After receiving a citation to appear in court, he was released.

#JacksonvilleFL #JSO #BenFrazier

Jacksonville, FL – Around 50 people gathered in downtown Jacksonville, Monday morning, July 1, to protest Mayor Lenny Curry and Sheriff Mike Williams’ inauguration. Curry and Williams both ran a campaign this spring based on law-and-order and the promise of lower crime rates. Despite the community’s demand over the last two years for less money for police and more money for community investment, Jacksonville city council and Mayor Curry repeatedly rewarded the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) with an increased budget, although crime continues to rise. The proposed JSO budget is $445 million, which is roughly a third of Jacksonville’s budget and $35 million increase over last year.

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee, Northside Coalition of Jacksonville, Jacksonville Progressive Coalition, community and labor leaders voiced their opposition to Mayor Curry and Sheriff Williams as they chanted slogans such as “Just say no to JSO,” and “Money for jobs and education, not for police and incarceration,” as city council members trickled past the protest into the venue. Community members demanded the city create a “People’s Budget” that invests in poor areas of town, public transit, education, mental health education along with other public services.

“We came out here this morning to let the city council, sheriff and the mayor know that more money to JSO while our communities are crumbling from a lack of infrastructure and public investment is a nonstarter,” said Michael Sampson of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee. “We shouldn’t fund a police state, and city council should serve the people, not JSO’s coffers.”

Activists pledged to continue keeping pressure up as the city council prepares for budget hearings coming up this fall.

#JacksonvilleFL #PeoplesStruggles #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommittee #JSO

Jacksonville, FL – It was a very violent weekend in Jacksonville. There was a shooting at the Raines High School versus Lee High School football game on Friday, August 24, and the following day, August 25, there was a shooting at the Jacksonville Landing during a video game tournament, leaving families and friends all over the city mourning. The Jacksonville city council typically meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month, and although rescheduled due to voting in the statewide primaries, the city council meeting on Wednesday, August 29 was attended by many angry community members and activists that wanted answers.

People from all over Jacksonville attended the meeting to demand accountability from the police. There were over 50 uniformed Jacksonville Sheriff Office (JSO) officers at the Raines v. Lee football game and they did not stop the triple shooting that left one person dead. JSO also failed to protect people at the Landing, where three people were killed, including the gunman, who fatally shot himself after injuring a dozen others – proving more cops isn't the answer. This directly contradicts what Sheriff Williams and Mayor Curry keep telling people will stop violence in the community.

Government officials are already opportunistically using the events of this past weekend to try to push a budget that many residents oppose, allocating yet another $30 million to JSO’s already outrageously overfunded budget. JSO’s budget, encompassing almost a third of the entire city budget, has not put a dent in the over 70% unsolved crime rate here in Jacksonville. Instead, we see JSO and the state protecting the white vigilante murderers of people like Keegan Roberts, whose family has still yet to receive justice. JSO has also failed to make an arrest in the murder of a local musician, Maurice Hobbs, and has not investigated the murder properly.

City Council President Aaron Bowman sought to silence public discussion about these issues by suggesting that any council member who would like to respond to a resident should go into a private room, keeping the information discussed away from the public. Councilman Garrett Dennis proposed an appeal of this decision, that these discussions should be allowed to happen in a public setting. Out of 19 council members, only four voted in favor of the appeal.

Upon seeing the vote results broadcast on the screens around the council chamber, the community decided it had finally seen enough. Leader of the Northside Coalition, Ben Frazier, asked the council “What about the voice of the people?” and as the City Council President Bowman directed JSO officers to harass the audience, many people began to walk out, chanting in unison “No justice! No peace!”, as well as “No new JSO!”

“What a slap in the face to Black and other marginalized communities who see poor roads, zero to little programming for our youth and no public infrastructure,” said Michael Sampson, a lead organizer with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, adding, “yet we can give another $30 million to JSO? That is wrong and the city council needs to stand against it. That money should go towards creating good jobs, housing, education and programs designed to improve people’s lives and neighborhoods – things that families really need.”

Protesters vowed to continue fighting against over policing and underdevelopment in African American neighborhoods in Jacksonville, as well as the 2018-2019 city budget, which allocates $30 million to the JSO, and which already takes a third of the city’s total operational budget. The activists all agreed that residents want better access to health services, better infrastructure, better jobs and better education – not more police or racist incarceration.

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee is calling on all those who oppose an increased police state in Jacksonville to rally with them outside Jacksonville City Hall this Wednesday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. on the National Day of Action Against Police Crimes.

#JacksonvilleFL #OppressedNationalities #AfricanAmerican #PoliceBrutality #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #JacksonvilleSheriffsOffice #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommittee #JSO #NoNewJSO

Jacksonville, FL – Over 75 people gathered in Klutho Park, May 11, to honor several mothers of the movement against police crimes, including the mothers of Keegan Von Roberts, Maurice Hobbs and Vernell Bing Jr., three Black men murdered in Jacksonville over the past two years. In all three cases, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) either murdered the men (Bing Jr.), failed to prosecute the killer (Von Roberts) or refused to even investigate the murder despite having evidence about the case (Hobbs).

The event was organized by the families and friends of the slain men and assisted by the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC). The rally was oriented towards exposing the corrupt justice system with State Attorney Melissa Nelson sitting at the top of a pyramid that only works for the 1%.

In the struggle against police crimes, nobody is more passionate and fights harder for justice than the mothers of the movement, and the rally, two days before Mother’s Day, was focused on honoring the mothers of the movement and emphasizing their continued determination to fight for justice and combat police crimes. The mothers serve as inspiration for the movement to never give up fighting and never rest until justice is won.

Several speakers told the crowd about the suffering and persecution the families of victims of police crimes faced at the hands of JSO. Some speakers led the crowd in chants including “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” and “If we don’t get it? Shut it down!” Jacksonville Food Not Bombs (FNB) was very helpful and provided meals at the event.

At the end of the rally, the mothers were presented with flowers and gifts on behalf of the JCAC and the Jacksonville Progressive Coalition (JPC) and recognized for their courage and bravery by their friends and allies.

The activists vowed to continue their struggle to win justice for the victims of police crimes. Many of the participants plan to attend the upcoming JCAC meeting on Thursday, May 17 at 6:30 p.m. inside the Wells Fargo Community Learning Center located at 601 N Main Street near downtown Jacksonville.

#JacksonvilleFL #PoliceBrutality #JCAC #JSO

MacClenny, FL – On April 21, around 150 community members and activists, as well as the family of Dominic Broadus II, marched to the Baker County Courthouse to call for justice.

On Feb. 3, Broadus II was found murdered execution-style with three bullet wounds to his head on property that belongs to the Fraser family, a very powerful family in Baker County. Gardner Fraser, who was well known in MacClenny for his violent behavior, was terminated from North East Florida Hospital for breaking a patient’s jaw. Fraser is the son of a former Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) Deputy Ryan T. Fraser, who was fired for shooting an unarmed Black man, and then rehired by the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, from which he eventually retired. Ryan T. Fraser, before joining the JSO, was forced to resign after hitting a car, leading to the death of a young woman. Gardner Fraser is also the grandson of Edwin Fraser, who the MacClenny hospital is named after. These connections are the main reason why protesters say there has been no arrest, given how politically connected the main suspect is.

“If the main suspect was Black, that person would already been in jail, but since the killer is white and connected to the sheriff’s department and a politically powerful family, you see this injustice,” said Joshua Parks of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, one of the march leaders.

Protesters met at the Emmanuel Church oh God and Christ and marched to the Baker County Courthouse a mile away, where a rally was held in front. Protesters’ chants included, “All night, all day, we gonna march for DJ,” “No Justice, no peace, Gardner Fraser off the streets,” “All eyes in Baker County,” as well as “Justice for DJ.”

At the courthouse, clergy, other victims’ families and the mother of Dominic Broadus II spoke to the crowd. She thanked everyone for their participation and urged everyone to keep up the fight to get justice for her son.

“This was very constructive,” said Hakeem Balogun, a community member who came from Jacksonville to protest. “The sheriff knows and the people know what is happening and they, the justice system, need to do what’s right before it gets worse for them.”

The community vowed to keep protesting and pressuring the State Attorney William Cervone to file charges against Gardner Fraser as well as rid the Baker County Sheriff’s Department of its racial bigotry, corruption and nepotism.

Be sure to follow the campaign on Facebook at “Justice4DjBroadus” for more updates on the next steps in this important struggle against the national oppression of African Americans in the Deep South.

#MacClennyFL #PoliceBrutality #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommittee #JSO #DominicBroadusII

Jacksonville, FL – Almost two dozen members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) spoke at the city council meeting July 25 in favor of police accountability.

The newly launched JCAC is fighting for a Jacksonville Police Accountability Council (JPAC) designed to provide real community control of a currently out of control law enforcement agency. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) has committed numerous offenses against working-class Black people over the past few years. These police crimes include the murder of the unarmed Vernell Bing Jr. last year and the murder of unarmed Selwyn Hall earlier this year.

More recently, JSO made national headlines when Devonte Shipman and another Black man were stopped by JSO officer J. S. Bolen for crossing the street. Bolen harassed and racially profiled Shipman, asking him about weapons and drugs, but he knew his rights. Shipman was issued two tickets by the corrupt officer, one for jaywalking and another for driving with a suspended license, even though he was clearly walking and not driving. Due to public pressure, JSO dropped the suspended license ticket.

It's clear that Jacksonville, like many other cities in the U.S., needs a mechanism for police accountability. The JCAC vowed to continue fighting for community control of the police as a step forward in the fight against racism and national oppression.

JCAC organizer Joshua Parks said, “We need JPAC because historically, the police have never been held accountable to Black, brown and poor communities. The only way to gain accountability is to empower our communities to gain control over the institutions that they pay for with taxes and affect their lives.”

#JacksonvilleFL #PoliceBrutality #JacksonvilleCommunityActionCommittee #JCAC #JPAC #JacksonvillePoliceAccountabilityCouncil #JSO