DeSantis hands out first responder bonuses in Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis handed out first responder bonuses at a press conference Monday in Jacksonville.
For the third year in a row, DeSantis said the state authorized $1,000 bonuses for police, fire and EMTs.
DeSantis hand-delivered the first 40 checks and shook hands with officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department during the press conference. The remaining checks will be sent via mail, the governor said.
“Thank you for what you’re doing,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis said he wants first responders to have “a little bit of breathing room,” pointing to high inflation and rising prices.
“And as important as that is, people would come up to me, and they never said it was about the money, just the fact that you’re getting a check from the state of Florida as a token of appreciation. People know that you’re in a state that values what you do,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis said the checks are awarding a net $1,000, with taxes already paid.
The governor said people don’t want to join police forces in other parts of the country “because it’s become a thankless job when they don’t get support for their community.”
“We in Florida have done it the opposite, where we’re showing that these are noble professions, and it’s something that you can have a great life doing, and you will get the esteem of your community if you’re doing it,” DeSantis said.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters thanked DeSantis for his “steadfast support for our law enforcement community.”
“In a moment in history in which the anti-police fringe is more vocal than ever, Florida continues to be the gold standard in this country for defending the rule of law,” Waters said.
Waters recently said President Joe Biden called him after a shooting in Jacksonville and spoke about white supremacy being “the most dangerous domestic terrorist threat” in America.
“[Biden] knew my silence was very, very telling to him, because he said, ‘I know you probably don’t agree with me, Sheriff,’” Waters said. “I left it there.”
Florida’s Voice reporter Michelle Vecerina asked DeSantis his thoughts on Biden’s comments during the press conference.
“I thought what T.K. said – I mean, I think T.K. said it very well, and I appreciated his comments on that. When things like this happen, we should be rallying together, and we should all be unified to say, ‘this is wrong, this is evil’ and it doesn’t matter your party it doesn’t matter any of the nonsense,” DeSantis said.
“You do just have some people that any time something happens, if they can advance their political agenda, then that’s what they look to do, and that’s just wrong,” DeSantis said.
WATCH: DeSantis denounces attempts to cause "disunity" after racially motivated Jacksonville shooting
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) September 18, 2023
"We should be rallying together, and we should all be unified to say, 'this is wrong.' […] It doesn't matter your party. [Sheriff T.K. Waters has] done a great job." pic.twitter.com/WnuMCcTI8M
DeSantis said Waters has “done a great job” and “hit the points very appropriately.”
Waters previously said the Aug. 26 shooting that took place at a Dollar General in Jacksonville “is not representative” of the community and he is “very passionate about that.”
“This is a maniac that left another county that came here and did something horrible in Jacksonville,” Waters said.
“Now, when I say this, I become an Uncle Tom, a puppet, whatever you want to say, that’s what I become to leaders, supposed leaders in this community,” Waters said. “But the facts are these, we have issues in our Black communities that have to be addressed.”
