JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A rise in police-involved shootings has a local pastor speaking out.
In 2020, there are 15 listed officer-involved incidents and on Nov. 17 another happened on the Westside. During this incident, officers shot and killed 18-year-old Devon Gregory after they say he became agitated. Police say a gun was found in the car near Gregory.
Of the 15 listed cases, 11 remain under review, in 10 cases the "subject(s)" was a person of color, and in nine the "subject(s)" was under 30 years old.
“We have to get to a point where we realize it may not have been my neighborhood, but it’s still my problem," Atlas Rankin said.
He is a man of faith. Faith in his community at its most troubled times. He’s been a voice against violence and a mentor for youth in an area known for a lot of it.
“They’re so used to it, it’s such the norm so when things happen it won’t happen to me I’ll walk right past it," he said.
Pastor Rankin is a father himself. The On Your Side team asked Rankin how he talks to his boys and the young people he mentors at his church. He advocates for keeping a cool head.
In the case of officer-involved shootings, Rankin says it starts with leadership. And what an escaped situation comes down to is accountability.
“We can do trainings just to mark it down and say I had it, we can do trainings to cover ourselves but until the leadership in the police ranks until they say it’s not going to happen no more," Rankin said.