A combined event was held by members of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office where members of law enforcement were able to meet residents of the Nocatee community.
The event was scheduled to take place in the parking lot near the Nocatee Splash Waterpark with a drive by of various officers Crosswater Parkway to cheer on their service.
“Four years ago, we said here with some of the same members that are standing here today and supporting this mission to back the blue,” St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick said. “At the time, words were being said like ‘defund the police department,’ and we were hurting with recruiting and officer retention across this entire country, but now we fast forward and find ourselves in a special place.”
However, the drive by scenario that had been planned was canceled due to a conflict taking place with a Nocatee event.
Although the event may not have gone as planned, Hardwick was thrilled to see the residents come out and the amount of support they showed for their local law enforcement.
“This is very patriotic county, and our deputies ride by here and love to see that support,” Hardwick said. “As an Army veteran for 25 years and with our son serving in the Army, these days are always special for us.”
Attending to the event was Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters and many other officers representing Jacksonville, as the relationship between the two county’s is something Harwick is proud of.
“I’ve got a special relationship with all the sheriff’s who are among those touching counties of ours, but T.K. Waters and I worked together in investigations and homicides 20 years ago and now fast forward we sit here today as two sheriffs. We’re truly blessed to have that relationship, and if we don’t talk daily, it’s something out of the ordinary. Help is really just a phone call away for our departments.”
One of the features that was able to still take place as part of the event was a helicopter flyover that took place along the Crosswater Parkway route and flying over those in attendance.
