Leaders in the faith community expressed concerns with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office allegedly writing a disproportionate amount of pedestrian tickets to the black community.
Monday night, pastors pressed Sheriff Mike Williams of JSO at the annual ICARE event at Abyssinia Missionary Baptist Church.
The sheriff tells Action News Jax he is working with officers to make sure it's only done in egregious cases.
In Jacksonville, African-Americans represent 29 percent of the population, but according to a joint publication by the Florida Times-Union and Pro-Publica, the black community has received 55 percent of the tickets in recent years.
Williams has stood by his number of 45 percent, and said this year, after a focus on education rather than enforcement, it’s down to 34 percent.
Related: Jacksonville police investigating after cop threatens to arrest man he said crossed street illegally
Pastor Phillip Baber of Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville pressed sheriff Williams.
“Does giving a fine actually save lives? Do you have any data to demonstrate that giving a fine for jaywalking actually saves lives?” Baber asked Williams, drawing applause from the crowd.
“Enforcement options are always an option,” Williams replied.
Before the event, Action News Jax caught up with Williams for a one-on-one interview.
“While there’s clearly work to do, epidemic, no. Organized effort from the top, absolutely not. And I think it’s just an issue that we work on together,” Williams said.
This comes less than a year after the high-profile case of Devonte Shipman and the viral video of an officer's heated interaction with him, after he was cited for crossing the street illegally. Those charges were eventually dropped.
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