Law enforcement leaders speak out following third JSO officer shot this year

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As mayoral candidates Donna Deegan and Daniel Davis held campaign events Wednesday night ahead of Thursday’s mayoral debate, local law enforcement leaders took the chance to speak out about the public’s perception of law enforcement.

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Sheriff T.K. Waters of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, alongside sheriffs from surrounding counties, outlined at Davis’s event on Wednesday how it’s all too common for the mistakes officers make to spread like wildfire on social media. Furthermore, they all outlined how vital it is to instead, bring awareness to their daily acts of sacrifice.

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“You put your life at risk each and every day,” Sheriff Wayne Ivey with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Department said.

JSO officer Taylor Smith serves as the most recent example of this tragic truth.

An officer, who multiple law enforcement sources identified to Action News Jax as Smith, was shot in the face outside Baptist Medical Center South in Jacksonville’s Southside late Tuesday night. This is the third JSO officer shot in the line of duty so far in 2023.

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“When that happened last night, they jumped into action and they do that to save lives. And I think we did that last night,” Sheriff Waters said on Wednesday.

Waters also shared that the officer is now in stable condition, with his health taking a turn for the better.

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