JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Multiple groups held a rally on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday evening to call on the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to get rid of the department’s gang unit.
The calls come after one of the unit’s former members, Josue Garriga, was recently arrested on charges of unlawful sex acts involving a teenager.
Those groups said the unit is causing the city more harm than good. They understand public safety is needed, however they think it should look different.
“The whole unit needs to be disbanded,” said Jamil Davis.
Davis is an organizing manager for Black Voters Matter and a member of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.
“The gang unit has been violently targeting Black and marginalized individuals within the city of Jacksonville,” he said.
Davis said the calls for the unit to be taken apart was a direct result of Garriga’s arrest.
Garriga is now facing several charges after being arrested in connection with a sex crime investigation with a 17-year-old girl in Clay County.
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But Davis pointed to other high-profile incidents involving the unit.
In Sept. 2023, Garriga was accused of police brutality against 24-year-old Le’Keian Woods during a traffic stop. The Justice Department cleared Garriga and the other officers involved of using excessive force, but Woods’s mother hopes the arrest can result in his charges being dismissed.
MORE: Le’Keian Woods’ mother hopes recent arrest of ex-JSO officer can result in his charges dismissed
Garriga was also involved in the controversial fatal shooting of Jamee Johnson in 2019, which was ruled justifiable by the State Attorney’s Office.
And News4JAX learned that Garriga and members of the gang unit also made racially insensitive comments in a text chain. The I-TEAM obtained an internal chain of text messages involving members of JSO’s Gang Unit, which contained disparaging remarks about Black Americans which led to one of the two Black gang unit members quitting the squad.
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“My thing is, if we put more money into adequate mental health resources for Black and brown communities in Jacksonville I think that would be a great replacement for the gang unit, as well as putting resources into activities for our youth,” Davis said.
But others don’t think it should go away completely.
“I don’t know per se if disbandment would be good,” said Ivan Brown, a former gang member.
Brown said he commends Sherriff T.K. Waters for all he’s done but he misses when members of the community came together to help people in gangs by having community meetings and giving them resources. And in a perfect world, that’s what the gang unit would look like, he said.
“Downsize it. Because it’s not really doing a whole lot,” Brown said.
Davis said his group is not against police since they know public safety is still needed. They just want more funds diverted away from police and more to the people.
JSO said the unit plays an important role in a long statement to News4JAX:
“The Gang Unit was started in 2007 to directly respond to group and/or gang violence and the criminal enterprises associated therein. This unit has the responsibility of addressing crimes perpetrated by those having ties to a myriad of documented gangs and other organized groups in our City. The detectives assigned to this unit are specialized in recognizing gang and group activity and proactively work to mitigate instances of violence before they occur. The unit also functions to assist JSO’s Patrol Division along with other investigative units to supplement manpower during complex and long-term criminal group investigations, to include Homicides, Robberies and Aggravated Batteries.
This unit plays a major role in subject intervention as they are routinely involved in “Custom Notifications”. A key aspect of the “Group Violence Intervention” (GVI) program in which members make contact with at-risk subjects in an effort to assist them in removing themselves from the gang or group lifestyle, thereby reducing violent crimes before they occur. Being an active participant in this outreach strategy for years, JSO has helped countless individuals in removing them from this way of life.
Sheriff Waters introduced this program in our community in 2016 while working as an Assistant Chief at JSO. As Sheriff, he continues to be a firm believer in the strategy and is confident of its continued success.”