Mike Williams: Why I Want To Be Your Next Sheriff

[Keef11]

If you are still there I have a question.  Is JSO ready for an ISIS attack like what happened in Texas?

[MikeWilliams]

^ the main thing I have heard from Williams (and from several JSO officers) is that he is about the status quo.  There is very little fault he finds in the way Sheriff Rutherford has done things over the past decade.

For example  Williams says in the article "want to ensure it remains a national leader in law enforcement as well as community model for relationships with partner organizations and the citizens we serve."

is this how most people in Jax. would describe JSO?

You know that is a great point - within the industry of law enforcement the JSO is one of a few recognized as a Triple Crown Accredited agency for exceeding national benchmark standards. However, the community of Jacksonville is likely not aware of that. Citizens of Jax know what they see, hear and experience themselves. That's why I think it is so important to improve community engagement. As Sheriff, I will have strong relationships with other city leaders and that is important. But what I see as being more important is for residents to know the officers assigned to their neighborhoods - by name - and to have a strong relationship them. There is no substitution for that kind of trust and cooperation that can be fostered between the community and the JSO.

[MikeWilliams]

If you are still there I have a question.  Is JSO ready for an ISIS attack like what happened in Texas?

The concerns related to terrorism weigh on all communities. I know folks have expressed that it seems like a moving target of activities and worry how we can stay ahead of their efforts to erode our sense of security overall. I can tell you that the teams at JSO are significantly prepared to prevent any such activity here in Jacksonville. JSO officers have been trained along side state and federal partners. They are tuned into the suspicious activity reporting that keeps tabs on any questionable activity spotted out there. I served on a regional task force that developed the iWatch Program to share information from citizens and law enforcement agencies. In this arena, prevention is the most important tactic... preparation and response are the other legs of the stool.

[MikeWilliams]

I have to head out to an event. As I mentioned earlier, I will check back here later today to address any other questions. Thanks for the opportunity to talk with you all. Have a great day!

[Keef11]

What about body cameras?  JSO is HUGE...like 2000 officers? 

[menace1069]

I live in a neighborhood with a bunch of cops.  They all like this guy.  I have heard him speak on TV and listened to the debate.  He blew Jefferson away I thought.  Jefferson seemed old and tired and how long has it been since he actually worked?  Williams just needs to distance himself from Rutherford but overall I think he is the most qualified

The police that Ive spoken to uniformly seem to prefer Mike.  The public seems to be evenly divided.  Why is it important that the Sheriff is popular with the police?  Is there some added benefit to the community?

Also, Ive been impressed with the conversation surrounding this campaign about the appropriateness of the nationalization of police and federal efforts.  Mike when I spoke with you, I thought that your viewpoint on the wall of separation between local cops and distant authorities was pretty convincing.  Could you speak to that a little more?

Stephen, that is a great question and I believe that the answer is yes, it is important.  The majority of the police officers are good officers doing a tough job. When they support another officer, to me it shows that the officer has the right mentality and demeanor for the job; he's a professional in all aspects and is not a rogue cop doing his own form of justice. Being in high opinion of your co-workers is a big deal in any line of work...it shows respect and leadership.
In my opinion, that does better the community when the majority of the officers support the guy they feel is doing the right thing for the community that they work in every day.

[MikeWilliams]

I live in a neighborhood with a bunch of cops.  They all like this guy.  I have heard him speak on TV and listened to the debate.  He blew Jefferson away I thought.  Jefferson seemed old and tired and how long has it been since he actually worked?  Williams just needs to distance himself from Rutherford but overall I think he is the most qualified

The police that Ive spoken to uniformly seem to prefer Mike.  The public seems to be evenly divided.  Why is it important that the Sheriff is popular with the police?  Is there some added benefit to the community?

Also, Ive been impressed with the conversation surrounding this campaign about the appropriateness of the nationalization of police and federal efforts.  Mike when I spoke with you, I thought that your viewpoint on the wall of separation between local cops and distant authorities was pretty convincing.  Could you speak to that a little more?

Stopping back here to see what questions might have come up... Stephen, I will try to recap our conversation below:

The short answer to that question is that I am not for nationalization of any police force and I think that the federal government should stay out of local policing.

We have had examples of that here, we had TSA move to expand into stopping people at bus stops and on roadways under the umbrella of preventing terrorism, but we never had a direct threat. While we have partnered with various federal agencies when we had specific threats, the idea of TSA or any other government agency patrolling our streets is not something we should be comfortable with. I was at the table with state level TSA officials to advise them that we were not going allow that in Jacksonville.

[tufsu1]

You know that is a great point - within the industry of law enforcement the JSO is one of a few recognized as a Triple Crown Accredited agency for exceeding national benchmark standards. However, the community of Jacksonville is likely not aware of that. Citizens of Jax know what they see, hear and experience themselves. That's why I think it is so important to improve community engagement. As Sheriff, I will have strong relationships with other city leaders and that is important. But what I see as being more important is for residents to know the officers assigned to their neighborhoods - by name - and to have a strong relationship them. There is no substitution for that kind of trust and cooperation that can be fostered between the community and the JSO.

Thank you Mike....community engagement and transparency have been severely lacking under Rutherford.  I sure hope that, if elected, you start changing that on day 1.

[MikeWilliams]

What about body cameras?  JSO is HUGE...like 2000 officers?

JSO currently has 1600 sworn officers - yes, it is an incredibly large organization. The body camera conversation is not a simple one. I have been getting this question every where I go, so I recognize that it is on the minds of so many of you. I have decided to capture my response on video and uploaded it to my YouTube page - click here to watch it: https://youtu.be/biAMsYMwOUU

[MikeWilliams]

We have a busy weekend planned. I will check back here on Saturday to continue talking with you all.
Have a great weekend! And thanks again

[brainstormer]

I commend you Mike for joining the conversation. Your openness to this type of communication speaks volumes.

I agree with tufsu1 that community engagement and transparency have been severely lacking under Rutherford. Your idea for residents to know the officers assigned to their neighborhoods is a fantastic plan. I encourage you to share these types of ideas because they distinguish you as somebody different than the current status quo. I don't want another Rutherford.

So I have a couple of questions.

What are your views on how we currently handle mental health calls in Jacksonville? Are you familiar with what police departments like San Antonio are doing as far as de-escalation training and how they are responding with empathy and understanding, rather than force? What is the point of intersection of homelessness and mental health and is JSO proactive or reactive when it comes to dealing with individuals who fall into either category?

Do you think that JSO currently does a good enough job "policing" itself? Are there systems in place to identify officers who have patterns of misconduct or who rack up citizen complaints? Are these systems working and is JSO doing a good enough job of disciplining and firing officers who do not uphold the oath to protect and serve? Does JSO have high enough standards for its officers?

I wish these were the types of issues that the debates were focused on. I'm so sick of the negativity and the questions about your personal finances, etc. (local media is petty) No wonder people tune out and just don't seem to care anymore.

I look forward to your thoughts.

[Jax native]

I commend you Mike for joining the conversation. Your openness to this type of communication speaks volumes.

I agree with tufsu1 that community engagement and transparency have been severely lacking under Rutherford. Your idea for residents to know the officers assigned to their neighborhoods is a fantastic plan. I encourage you to share these types of ideas because they distinguish you as somebody different than the current status quo. I don't want another Rutherford.

So I have a couple of questions.

What are your views on how we currently handle mental health calls in Jacksonville? Are you familiar with what police departments like San Antonio are doing as far as de-escalation training and how they are responding with empathy and understanding, rather than force? What is the point of intersection of homelessness and mental health and is JSO proactive or reactive when it comes to dealing with individuals who fall into either category?

Do you think that JSO currently does a good enough job "policing" itself? Are there systems in place to identify officers who have patterns of misconduct or who rack up citizen complaints? Are these systems working and is JSO doing a good enough job of disciplining and firing officers who do not uphold the oath to protect and serve? Does JSO have high enough standards for its officers?

I wish these were the types of issues that the debates were focused on. I'm so sick of the negativity and the questions about your personal finances, etc. (local media is petty) No wonder people tune out and just don't seem to care anymore.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Wow, I have questions also, but would love to see these two questions talked about in real speak.  I would like to know when Mike Williams will be online, to have a conversation ever if it's short. 

[tufsu1]

have you seen the video from Dover Delaware in 2013 released today?  What are your thoughts on this?  How can citizens trust police when they see  videos like this?

Body (and dashboard) cameras may in fact protect police from being falsely accused.

[MikeWilliams]

I commend you Mike for joining the conversation. Your openness to this type of communication speaks volumes.

I agree with tufsu1 that community engagement and transparency have been severely lacking under Rutherford. Your idea for residents to know the officers assigned to their neighborhoods is a fantastic plan. I encourage you to share these types of ideas because they distinguish you as somebody different than the current status quo. I don't want another Rutherford.

So I have a couple of questions.

What are your views on how we currently handle mental health calls in Jacksonville? Are you familiar with what police departments like San Antonio are doing as far as de-escalation training and how they are responding with empathy and understanding, rather than force? What is the point of intersection of homelessness and mental health and is JSO proactive or reactive when it comes to dealing with individuals who fall into either category?

Do you think that JSO currently does a good enough job "policing" itself? Are there systems in place to identify officers who have patterns of misconduct or who rack up citizen complaints? Are these systems working and is JSO doing a good enough job of disciplining and firing officers who do not uphold the oath to protect and serve? Does JSO have high enough standards for its officers?

I wish these were the types of issues that the debates were focused on. I'm so sick of the negativity and the questions about your personal finances, etc. (local media is petty) No wonder people tune out and just don't seem to care anymore.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Hey everyone - good morning. Hope everyone's weekend is off to a great start with this phenomenal weather.
I am happy to check in and see you all continuing the conversation. Hope I can hit on all the points you have presented:

MENTAL HEALTH - All JSO officers receive Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) early in their careers. This model training program teaches officers deescalation and intervention techniques so that we can minimize arrests and assist those in crisis in seeking treatment. Jail should not be a treatment program.

JSO CONDUCT - I am confident that JSO does a good job of policing itself. There are several overlapping systems in place to identify officers who may be engaging in misconduct such as Internal Affairs Red Flag, the Integrity Unit and an Officers Chain of Command who regularly reviews complaints made on officers. The public should expect officers to be held to a higher standard of conduct and I absolutely agree with that perspective.

[MikeWilliams]

have you seen the video from Dover Delaware in 2013 released today?  What are your thoughts on this?  How can citizens trust police when they see  videos like this?

Body (and dashboard) cameras may in fact protect police from being falsely accused.

Anytime we have to watch acts of violence it is disturbing - each individual incident that goes viral does begin to erode the trust in law enforcement and that is why transparency is so important to me. I want to open up the agency and see a number of ways we can do that: building those relationships at the neighborhood level (I want folks to know officers by their name and vice versa), making the Response to Resistance (RTR) process open to the public again. (It was closed due to union lawsuit - I think it is critical for the public to know what is going on throughout the investigations). And taking advantage of the new technology that is available that our budget can work to afford - body cameras, faster & more durable computers for officers in the field, as well as partnering with existing smartphone apps to bring police and community closer.