by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The Fraternal Order of Police headquarters on Beach Boulevard would not — repeat, would not — have been a good spot for criminals Thursday morning.
There were dozens of current and retired members of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on hand. Enough Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department personnel to handle any injuries. Plenty of lawyers — most of them prosecutors. Several judges, enough members of the public to serve as an impromptu jury and JSO spokesman Ken Jefferson to explain what’s happening.
Oh yeah, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum was also on hand in case anything needed attention from the State level.
That scenario is unlikely, but that group and many others from various facets of law enforcement did gather at the FOP for the Justice Coalition’s Sixth Annual Together We Can campaign. Sponsored by W.W. Gay and several others, this year’s breakfast/anti-crime rally attracted about 300 people, including members of several families impacted by violent crime locally.
“We will raise $50,000 today and it could be as much as $60,000,” said Ann Dugger, executive director of the Justice Coalition. “This is our biggest turnout so far. They (the FOP) have already offered to have us back next year.”
Dugger said the annual breakfast rallies are a good way to unite members of every facet of law enforcement in an effort to not only raise funds, but further their involvement with the Justice Coalition.
“We want them to be proactive,” she said. “We want them to know what the Justice Coalition does.”
Sheriff John Rutherford talked about how far the Justice Coalition has come since it was started in 1995 by founder Ted Hires.
“It’s been a long time since Ted Hires had that gun out to his head,” said Rutherford, explaining the genesis of the organization. “I am sure his memory of that is just as fresh today as it was 10 years ago.
“Over the years, the Justice Coalition has helped citizens stand up and do what was right. One citizen working with the police, one citizen working with the prosecutor and one citizen working with the Justice Coalition is what makes the ‘Together We Can’ campaign work.”
McCollum said he has never seen an organization such as the Justice Coalition and its effects.
“I have traveled the whole state and there is nothing comparable to this,” he said. “There is not community spirit like this in a larger community.
“A lot of the people here today are in law enforcement in every sense of the word. These are not only the men and women who stand in line every day to protect us, but they help the victims, prevent crime and do something constructive as a volunteer.”