by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
The Fraternal Order of Police swore in the first minority president in its 50-year history last week, as Nelson Cuba replaced outgoing president David Stevens only months before his term was to expire. Cuba, who’s been with the union for eight years, ran unopposed for the vice presidency in 1998.
“This is the largest FOP chapter in the state and there has never been a minority president before now,” said Cuba, 38. “I think it was time and I’m proud to do it.”
Cuba, who immigrated to the United States from Cuba in 1971 when he was six, said he never aspired to become president of the FOP when he became a patrol officer in 1990.
“It was a dream of mine to go into law enforcement. It’s in my heart, but when you are first starting out as an officer, all you want to do is make it through training,” said Cuba, who served four years in the military before being hired by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. “After that, you just want to get beyond your first year. Then you start going to meetings and seeing things that you do and don’t like. My mother always told me that if you want to change something you have to get involved and do it yourself. That’s what I did, and years later, here I am.”
Cuba, a father of two, said he has always admired Jacksonville’s sense of community.
“I was raised in Miami,” he said. “I still have family there, but it’s not a place where I wanted to raise my kids. When I was looking into going to the police academy I knew that Jacksonville was a good place to go. It has a close, family-oriented environment that I like.”
Cuba has since divorced his wife, and he retains full custody of his son Emmanuel, 13, and daughter Christina, 3.
“My mother moved from Miami to help me with them and I’m very thankful for that,” he said. “She helps me out a lot and that allows me to do more of things that I want to do. My family is very supportive of me. When I come home, my son asks, ‘Did you arrest anyone today?’ I think he’s pretty proud of his dad.”
Cuba said he has also gotten the support of Stevens who, prior to resigning, was encouraged by Sheriff-elect John Rutherford to apply for a job with his administration.
“David is 100 percent supportive of me,” he said. “If he didn’t think I was ready or that there wasn’t someone who was, he wouldn’t have stepped down. We may not always agree, but we have always understood and supported each other.”
And Cuba is already planning his year.
“I’ve got several contracts that will need to be negotiated on behalf of the FOP,” he said. “We’ve already made great strides together, but I’m ready to move forward and continue the fight. It hasn’t totally hit me that I’m the new president, but I know I’m well prepared.”