Within the past few months I have done some ride alongs, in different areas of the city and at different times in order to learn and appreciate more of what JSO does.  I have gone on rides, with female and male officers, task forces, patrol officers, veterans of the force and new officers.

Everytime I've been out with our officers they have been fair, polite, tactfully aggressive and safe at all times.  I saw everything from helping an elderly man with his stolen A/C unit to getting crack and firearms off of the street.

The main thing I learned is that if you're respectful but most of all truthful with them you'll be a lot better off.  Also crime, while more prevelant in some areas, is everywhere.

JSO is awesome and they deserve our respect, cooperation and plenty of space when you see them coming/working.

I do ride alongs with JSO aswell and Jax Beach. They are good people and from what I see they really do care about this city and its not just about the paycheck. JSO in my opinion is great. I've never been hassled by them and they are very professional. On ride alongs I get a little leeway because i wear my own vest. I have seen all kids of calls and even have to "help" out an officer. If only Rutherford wasn't such a tool and the city would back JSO upwhen it comes to the budget.

+1 I've gone on quite a few ride alongs as well, and everything said above, I agree with. I've had nothing but positive experiences with JSO and all of their officers.

They're good people doing the best they can in a very tough and unappreciated job.

-Glenn

+1 JSO officers and Detectives are very helpful and do a great job. I'm interning with JSO right now and have already done 94 hours in just under 3 weeks. I have worked with CSU, Patrol and Detectives. All are very helpful. Patrol is the most active and interesting, they see all types of people and learn how to communicate with each of them in different ways. and +1 on being respectful and truthful with the officers because most of the time they will let you off or give you a much less expensive ticket than what was deserved.  Now if only they didn't cut the budget so I could get hired at the end of the year all would be good.

would you like to tell me alittle more about Ruthford being a 'Tool" He is a close friend to my family and is anything but a tool to me and the people of Jax.

I dont agree with many  of his views and have heard time and again from other JSO officers about the problems with him. About the city not contibuting to the pensition plan and him doing nothing about it, Hes a politician if you ask me and I dont trust any of them, Hell mayor Peyton is no better. Sorry for upsetting you Leon.

Who do I need to contact to go on one of these ride-alongs.

Just go to the areas sub station that you want to ride and sign up. You can't do it that day but within a couple days you are able to. For the most art you get to choose the day and time you want to ride.

http://www.coj.net/Departments/Sheriffs+Office/Community+Affairs/Citizen+Involvement/Ride+Along.htm





 
 
 

I like JSO officers...all that i've met.

That, and they aren't afraid to kill a mother fucker.

I forget his name, but one of the guys at the last Carbine II class mentioned that they've started to explain to the junior officers that JSO does NOT stand for "Just Shot One".

anywhere you go someone that works for you will not like you. Mr. Ruthford as long as I have known him and its a long time truly cares about this city and wants to turn it around so that people and children can walk down the streeets anywhere and feel safe. I cant think of a better man I would want in his job.

Slug-O

Got iTunes?  Get on it do and search for First Coast Connect and listen to the show that aired 9/10.  The Sheriff is on the show for the entire hour, taking calls, emails, answering questions, etc.  Good stuff.

I don't want to be the one debbie downer, but I've got personal experience with several specific and focused examples of corruption in the JSO. I have a hard time with this topic because I would liketo think that they are all about justice, but I know factually and honestly about several major incidences of outright corruption, selective enforcement,  and abuse of power. I've got JSO in my family too.

Examples please? No need to mention names.

How about................ he is anti gun

He was against a 2004 law that forced electronic records of gun owners to be destroyed.
He is against the legal ownership of NFA weapons (unless you know him)
He supports legislation that will make private transfers of firearms illegal
He supports a "purchasing permit" for firearms. (what ever the fuck that is)
He does not support HB503 (guns in cars)

What Sam said, he is a politician, and not to be trusted. Bold face lied about his willingness to sign off to my SOT during his campaign to become sheriff. Didn't vote for him the second time around, wont vote for him the third. Maybe by 2011 we will all be fed up with him enough to vote him out

I cannot complain about st johns county, but I must be honest, in the majority of my dealings with JSO and my numerous traffic infractions, I feel they are pushy, excessive, and egotistical and thus unprofessional. Let me explain why I think that before you guys start the beatings.

In my experience, I have felt discourtesy from many of them. I am not the best person when it comes to gas pedal restraint, which is certainly my fault. I feel as though the rule (not the exception) is that they use excessive language and try to be a judge on the street, selectively enforcing laws and using exceptions to manipulate suspects into thinking they will get a break.I know about one case where they deliberately charged a friend with having pot in his car, with no evidence, held him over the weekend, had him miss work, and monday morning magically the charges get dropped with no mention from the judge. Yeah, I guess it's his fault for driving a jaguar in a bad neighborhood and letting his tag expire. I guess he deserved to be on lockdown all weekend for forgetting his tag. Yes, I understand command and control, but they too often misuse this advantage. I have people close to me who have been berated for having insulin needles and accused of DUI, even had disabilities made fun of, mocked during a sobriety test, and I've been told (yelled) that I'm going to jail completely stone sober. And ive had those same people that I know call in 'favors' from other cops (i do NOT condone this at all) and let him go when he should have been taken to jail. these are not exagerations, or "friends" just telling stories, these are first hand experiences.

I experienced an officer falsify a police report on a relatively minor traffic infraction (which I was completely innocent of) Anyone on the web can look up the case and see it was dismissed. Admittedly, he told the truth in court, and the judge even thanked him for his honesty, which freed me up from any legal consequences.  Had I not fought it, I would have had to pay for a traffic violation that was simply a lie, go to traffic school, school, put up with him coming up to me and yelling at me while I was pumping gas minutes later when he finally caught up to me, then claiming he saw me do something I didn't actually do. He only told the truth because I cornered him when asking him questions and 'encouraged' him to show integrity and admit it. He screamed at me out of his car at a gas station and ordered me to stop pumping gas (im not sure why) while he lectured me about something I didn't even do, on camera. I was driving a toyota camry and had just left blockbuster at 1130 at night in my gym shorts. He was a veteran in his 40's and should have known better. I can give several other examples, but I am a law abiding, responsible, college graduate, and have never been arrested for anything, ever. My one problem is speeding, which i admit am generally guilty of on highways, but overall am a safe driver.

One other thing I have a low tolerance for is cops speeding or driving recklessly, and I'm not talking about 5 or 10 miles over. I am talking about 85-88mph on i-95 with no emergency lights on and leaving their county with no business purpose to be going that fast. this is an integrity issue, as far as im concerned. Beyond that, the fuel usage is pretty egregious at those speeds and I was told that JSO was already over budget last summer mid year for fuel. Obviously the costs going up are the main reason, but wasting fuel to break the law they are supposed to enforce is not acceptable in my opinion. there is one in particular who lives near me in st johns county who does this every night as he drives back to where we live, and he drives 60 in the 45 off the main CR i live off of. I have a problem with deliberate, unsafe abuse of power/privilege.

I respect the tough job they do, and a person in my family is JSO. I'm not totally biased.  I know that by and large they must be justice oriented people doing a tough job in alot of areas where safety is hard to judge, but the above the law attitude of some JSO, does bother me. Maybe I need to do a few ride alongs and desensitize myself from bad past experiences. But in the meantime, I stay legal in every way, and stay away from cops.

Thanks ram for the specific examples of Rutherford, as I am away from my normal computer, Leon Hes probably a real nice dude but his intentions for firearms owners are def not in your best intrest or mine.  That being said JSO is still for the most part a good agency, If you ask me there area few bad apples everywhere JSO isnt without its abbusive cops but overall a great agency. I am good freinds with Lee Peacock the DT instuctor at the academy and he is a big scary guy but hes just the most humble nicest guy I've ever trained with.  

Peyton is cutting the budget for JSO next year by a few million, It will be interesting to see the effects it has on the city......stay tuned.

first he has no problem sighing off on NFA........have you gone and seen him in person???
second permit to sell a firearm is not true.
third the budget for JSO will not be hit as hard as you think.... about 1 million will be taken away comapred to 3 illion that was spoken.
as to the rest of your points. I dont know but I sure as hell can find out.

as for the problems with JSO.........those are with that officer and not Mr. Ruthford.  Thats like caying I hate ARFCOM  but really its jus the trolls

Leon

I tried.  I was quickly turned away. They said he does not sign those and to have a good day.

I seem to remember him saying about 3 years ago that he would sign off on machine guns but not silencers.

 

was it a silencer????? anything but them..........SBS SBR AOL FA he will sighn for.

I haven't tried personally but as Ram said "Unless you know him"  don't care speculate but I've heard several people say they were turned down and therefore decided to do the trust.

If anyone has questions or comments regarding Jenk2k's comments please say so and I'll entertain them.

Also, if you have iTunes, I'd encourage you to do a quick search for the free program called First Coast Connect.  It's a one hour program that aired on 9/10 with Sheriff Rutherford.  In it he explains a myriad of questions the come in from Jacksonvillians via email and phone.  Good way to learn more about him.

Nope. It was for a SBR.  Its ok, I took care of the problem myself.  I moved to clay county and I also have a trust.

And I quote...... on Jan 21 2009

“Some of the points include making it tougher for crooks to get their hands on guns.
He says people should not leave guns in their cars and should properly store them at home.
He also wants people to report stolen guns right away to cut down on traffickers
He also suggests doing background checks at gun shows and making sure gun buyers have purchasing permits.

And yes I did ask him to sign off on a silencer. I was told after two weeks that he will not sign off on silencers, short bbls. I guess that means that if I am rich enough to own a MG (which I am) I must be a good guy. Also, his own employees have been directed to not ask him for a sign off. 50% of JSO goes to see "the judge". The other 50% do the trust thing. Not one NFA transfer that has been completed or is pending in two years of being a SOT has been signed by our Sheriff.

dont have I dunes wish I did though...

I know he will not sighn off on suppressors its no big thing........SBRs I have seen before..dont know whats up with you ........Hell I dont even see him for sighn offs because he is so busy with all the crap on his desk it will be a month before he get to it. Go see the Judge like I do. Great guy to talk too and easy in and out in a few days. I wish I had kept up with this post over the weekend.I was working

Glad to hear about his unwillingness to sign off on silencers and short barrels. That just kept me from wasting a lot of my time. Looks like "trust time" will be my best option as I have no intention of moving just to have a silencer or SBR. What does it matter as long as you meet all of the requirements to be eligible? I have never voted in an election for Sheriff, but I will now....

On the JSO involved shootings, if all of these "fine upstanding people" didn't act like a bunch of dumb@$$es and pull out weapons or act like they had weapons, they probably wouldn't get shot if they would just comply. A little respect for law enfocement and a few "yes, sir"s go along way with these guys from my experience. You would think that these people would know by now that when the man says "drop it", you are supposed to drop it.

I was watching COPS (in Jax) one night and a guy on there was fleeing in a vehicle from a routine traffic stop, if my memory serves me right. The guy ended up wrecking out and when the officer asked him why he ran, he said "What I'm po'd da do" (translation "What am I supposed to do ?"). True genius. When you see the lights come on, you pull over if you have half a brain. Maybe they aren't pulling you over and maybe they are. They could be in a hurry to get somewhere else. I think the genius may have had no license. Instead of a night in jail for driving without a license, he is charged with fleeing and eluding, property damage, and whatever else applied to the situation. All he had to say was "What I'm po'd da do?" What a genius.... This is the kind of absolute disregard for authority and utter stupidity these guys have to deal with on a daily basis. I'm glad they do their job as well as they do it. I'm just not sure I could excercise the restraint that these guys have to on a regular basis. Much respect to the JSO. However, there is one guy here in Jax that would write his Grandmother a ticket, he's hardcore about citations.... but just doing his job

Jenk2k there is a lot more to your stories than has been revealed within this thread.

Jenk2k also wrote: My one problem is speeding, which i admit am generally guilty of on highways, but overall am a safe driver.

This next area I'd like to address, the sentence above this one will speak for itself shortly.

Jenk2k writes:
One other thing I have a low tolerance for is cops speeding or driving recklessly, and I'm not talking about 5 or 10 miles over. I am talking about 85-88mph on i-95 with no emergency lights on and leaving their county with no business purpose to be going that fast. this is an integrity issue, as far as im concerned. Beyond that, the fuel usage is pretty egregious at those speeds and I was told that JSO was already over budget last summer mid year for fuel. Obviously the costs going up are the main reason, but wasting fuel to break the law they are supposed to enforce is not acceptable in my opinion. there is one in particular who lives near me in st johns county who does this every night as he drives back to where we live, and he drives 60 in the 45 off the main CR i live off of. I have a problem with deliberate, unsafe abuse of power/privilege.

I respect the tough job they do, and a person in my family is JSO. I'm not totally biased. I know that by and large they must be justice oriented people doing a tough job in alot of areas where safety is hard to judge, but the above the law attitude of some JSO, does bother me. Maybe I need to do a few ride alongs and desensitize myself from bad past experiences. But in the meantime, I stay legal in every way, and stay away from cops.

Also I read this in the Florida Times-Union yesterday: Retrain every officer on what a speed limit is, what a red light means and how to activate the turn signal in their vehicles.  They are not above the law as they demonstrate daily!  Source:  http://jacksonville.com/opinion/letters_from_readers/2009-09-14/story/city_budget_police_are_not_above_the_people

Police officers do not have to obey traffic laws if it inhibits them from doing their job.  There is wide latitude given here.
Lights and sirens are used for three reasons: life and death calls, officer needs help, tactfully approaching a call that does not fall into the first two reasons.  While people complain about speeding and "just putting on lights” to go through an intersection and not using turn signals, here is what is actually happening inside that police car: a well-trained, better-than-you-driver is 99 percent of the time on the way to a call or they have just run a plate of another car and they are in the midst of attempting to get behind it.

No one should do a ride along to desensitize themselves but rather to learn and appreciate what goes on everyday – yes, like “speeding” and not using a turn signal.

Lastly, if you think that an officer is being reckless, by all means, safely write down the police car number, date, time and location and submit a formal complaint.  Here is the link to do it:  http://coj.net/Departments/Sheriffs+Office/Complaint.htm

I'm sure the answer is no, but since you mentioned the vest, I'm going to ask anyway - if you have a CWL can you take it on a ride-along in Florida? I went on two when I lived in Colorado, and they absolutely would not let you do it. I'm surprised to hear you can even wear a vest here - it is (or was) illegal in Colorado.

Vest yes Firearm- Hell no be smart stay safe.

I can appreciate your point of view and I acknowledge that people need latitude for judgment to do any job that requires skill. I wish I could figure out what your overall point is, but if you are implying that I have anything to do with any postings on that times union link, your suggestion is incorrect. Furthermore, your implication that there are any other relevant facts regarding my "stories" is also off base. If you're looking for a debate, I won't engage. What happened in all of those cases mentioned is a matter of simple fact. If your point is to deny that there are excessive / aggressive behavior on the part of a large enough percentage of JSO, then we simply aren't going to agree. Obviously, someone agreed, or they wouldn't have jacked up the education / CSO requirements to improve a general sense of professionalism.

I have every right as a citizen and taxpayer to insist on the principle of justice, fairness, and professionalism in our police force. If you or anyone else doesn't appreciate that black and white standard, maybe you should recalibrate. It's a principle that applies to all duty.

You are not going to convince me that officers are on calls 85% of the day when they are speeding around town. It is not legal to speed, even for a police officer, unless in the course of legitimate duty and we all know the difference. It is also a waste of gas to drive a v8 around at 90mph when you're going home every night. Shit, I'd say it's a waste (or at the least, a luxury) to idle a v8 for 4 hours just to run the A/C while parked in front of a movie theatre, but I can appreciate the comfort level luxury for A/C and keeping the laptop going, and wouldn't argue against that.

I argue that non duty related speeding or misuse of turn signals is not legal and there is absolutely no policy, statute,  or ethical justification for it. Going 90 can cost a regular citizen hundreds of dollars and a verbal admonition on the side of the road. In my office park where I work, going 35 in a 25 where there are no pedestrians, no school buses, and infrequent or nonexistent accidents, they line up and leapfrog people on their way to work, making people late, and charging substantial fees. This technique makes a loud point; don't speed, even if you know how to drive like a champ.  I challenge anyone to produce a policy that justifies professional speeding without a business reason to do so. Just a month ago I was pulling off eastbound arlington expressway into the shopping center where olive garden was to get over to the other side so I could go to the Panera and happened to be behind a pair of JSO who switched two lanes rather recklessly, rolled right through two stop signs california style and then ended up ahead of me in line in the same damned panera to eat dinner. Is this the latitude you refer to? Frankly, I don't know why anyone would defend it. I have used the internal affairs complaint form several times. I ended up having a 30 minute conversation with a zone commander the next day after I faxed it over. ( no shit, I still have the letters on my hard drive) The zone commander was a stand up guy about it and said he would ask the officer to admit what he was doing. He didn't want to get too specific about the reprimand but he did say that officers who get IA complaints on this issue do get a letter put in their file and lose their take home cars for a month ( or 25 working days or something along those lines.) He had as much a problem with it as I did, and he's the one who cited me the stat on the fuel budget. I'm not calling names here, I'm just calling it fairly and objectively.

I've worked with JSO a couple of times and always found them to be very professional.  

I can't imagine how laying off all the Community Officers is going to effect them...I imagine it is going to double their call volume, and really slow down service, and it won't be their fault at all...

As far as the increase in shootings....Play stupid games, win stupid prizes....It wasn't that long ago that a JSO officer was shot (near Regency, go figure) over a SHOPLIFTED PAIR OF JEANS...are you kidding me...He was shot several times––his vest saved him.  He was able to return fire (think he killed the guy, but not sure), and save his own life––OVER A PAIR OF JEANS...

Another was shot by a guy jay walking––-What the hell has this world come to???  I

I can appreciate your point of view and I acknowledge that people need latitude for judgment to do any job that requires skill. I wish I could figure out what your overall point is, but if you are implying that I have anything to do with any postings on that times union link, your suggestion is incorrect. Furthermore, your implication that there are any other relevant facts regarding my "stories" is also off base. If you're looking for a debate, I won't engage. What happened in all of those cases mentioned is a matter of simple fact. If your point is to deny that there are excessive / aggressive behavior on the part of a large enough percentage of JSO, then we simply aren't going to agree. Obviously, someone agreed, or they wouldn't have jacked up the education / CSO requirements to improve a general sense of professionalism.

I have every right as a citizen and taxpayer to insist on the principle of justice, fairness, and professionalism in our police force. If you or anyone else doesn't appreciate that black and white standard, maybe you should recalibrate. It's a principle that applies to all duty.

You're right about all this - nope, not looking for engagement.

To this point:  You are not going to convince me that officers are on calls 85% of the day when they are speeding around town. It is not legal to speed, even for a police officer, unless in the course of legitimate duty and we all know the difference. It is also a waste of gas to drive a v8 around at 90mph when you're going home every night. Shit, I'd say it's a waste (or at the least, a luxury) to idle a v8 for 4 hours just to run the A/C while parked in front of a movie theatre, but I can appreciate the comfort level luxury for A/C and keeping the laptop going, and wouldn't argue against that.

Too bad I'm unable to convince you on that percentage - go on a ride along sometime is all I'm able to suggest.

I agree about the speeding, when it is used in the course of duty – but I don’t know how to tell the difference unless I’m sitting in the car with the officer.

Also, police officers in Jacksonville now drive Chevy Impalas.  They have a V-6 FlexFuel system.

Regarding keeping the motor on – again you’ll have to do a ride along to understand how much equipment is inside the car that requires the motor to be kept on.

Sheriff Rutherford has signed for me for SBR's and a MG's I just send the forms to his sec.
And Judge M has signed for me for SBR's and Silencers. Great guy and is a a fellow gun nut
And I have a TRUST and have done SBR's and Silencers.
I like to keep all my options open

The issue I have with JSO are the ones that leave their kids in the car with it running while they run into Publix "Burning my gas"
Make them park the car when they are off.
How much $ would that save us all.

So vests are legal for private citizens in Florida? That's what your comments leads me to believe. I hadn't ever considered getting one, because as I said, they were illegal in other areas I lived in the past. If they are legal here, I'm going to buy one for myself for Christmas.

They're legal to wear, unless you're committing a crime.
Bulletproof Vest statute 775.0846

Vests are kosher here this isn't Mass, or New York or Cali, we still have rights for the most part.

I appreciate the way JSO shoots lots of bad guys and I appreciate the way Rutherford stands up for them and the patrolling policies that lead to higher incidences of encounters between bad guys & cops.  

Don't appreciate his anti gun beliefs.

I usually like the cops I encounter.   I did get a ticket from one guy who was a MEGA douche, but w/ some effort I was able to keep that from seeding prejudice against JSO/Cops in my heart.  

I have seen two patrol cars going in excess of 30 mi over the limit on the interstates in town w/o no lights on this year.  Police info line tells me that is not permitted.  I don't like cops acting like they are above the law.  They are supposed to be an example of lawfulness.  

I did have some woman cop suddenly change lanes w/ no signal into a middle lane that I was half way merged into, w/ care & w/ a signal.  I was able to avoid accident by my vigilance.  She apparently never noticed almost clipping my fender.

Did have some off duty (in personal vehicle), JSO tailgate me & then run up to my car & yank open my door & almost get shot.  That could have went very badly.  

I passed him & he flashed his brights at me & I flipped him the bird, then he tailgated me w/ his brights on like a psyco while I was on the phone w/ dispatch telling them about it.  We came to a stop light & I heard him get out of his truck so I took off & he got back in a pursued.  Of course, his brights were still on so I couldn't see back there.  We came up to a major accident w/ numerous ambulance & JSO and stopped.  I felt safe w/ so many cops there, but suddenly he yanked my door open.  Luckily, I don't startle too easy & I didn't draw down on him or anything before I understood he was a cop.

Turns out that my brights were on & had caused him some discomfort before I passed him & that is why he flashed me.  Then when I flipped him the bird he got pissed & tailgated me w/ his brights.  I shouldn't have a had my brights on (indicator light in my dash is burnt out), & it probably wasn't prudent or nice to flip him the bird.  Nevertheless, it is extremely foolish for a off duty cop to run up to someone's car & yank open the door like that.  Why did he do it?  Well, I guess he just is not used to having to deal w/ other people disrespecting him since he is in uniform a lot.  That kind of ego, temper & a badge/gun is a bad combination.   I should have got his name & badge number & had him disciplined.  When he explained to me that my brights were on he saw that I was unaware of it.  Then he explained that he was "just trying to let me know my brights were on," as if his behavior was solely out of concern for the danger that my brights were to the community.  Then he says "this is jax & you can't be flying the bird like that" and then he told me to get out of there & that he was going to see if they needed some help at the accident scene.  

Hopefully we both learned a little something from that situation that thankfully ended w/o incident.  

I should have had my car locked for one and should avoid flipping the bird in some dark b/c you never know who it is.  I'm thinking about signing up myself & I hope I wouldn't abuse power or come to take myself anymore seriously than I do now.

Hell they'll sign off on anything in clay!