Sheriff Vincent: Peace officer

Happy Monday! Today I want to talk a little about fulfilling campaign promises.

You may have heard we had a rather contested race for sheriff last year. The prior officeholder was somewhat of a lightning rod in the things he said and did.
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Before going there, some context about the Citrus Coffee Coalition.

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That’s a feisty group of Democrats, independents, and moderate Republicans who have a very low opinion of President Donald Trump. I first encountered these folks about six years ago during the infamous New York Times debacle and have watched their steady growth in membership since then.

These days they have meetings and organize protests, such as the No Kings event that took place Saturday along Main Street in downtown Inverness. They write letters to the editor and have a very active Facebook page.

The prior sheriff would purposely antagonize those whose politics differed from his. It was the oddest thing to see our top law enforcement officer insulting others on his social media, questioning their loyalties.

I heard from many of my Coffee Coalition friends. They sincerely feared the sheriff — and by proxy, his officers — would stand by and do nothing if agitators disrupted their peaceful protests.

So, when Dave Vincent said he would restore community faith to the sheriff’s office, where integrity mattered more than anything, we all had a hope of that but not really sure what it looked like.

Six months on the job, the sheriff regularly interacts in the community. He has a strong social media presence, is keeping citizens informed, and the guy still gets the biggest applause in any room.

So, yeah, he’s checking off the community boxes. But would he really protect the underdog, or is that just campaign noise?

We had a taste of the sheriff’s thinking late last week. He posted a video with his expectations that we’d all behave like Citrus Countians on Saturday, that protesters would not be harassed, and that he’s an “equal opportunity arrester” if anyone decided to challenge that.

Saturday morning, I walked from the World Headquarters into town. As I walked along the sidewalk where protesters lined up, there he was, coming my way: Sheriff Vincent, in his full green uniform, greeting residents and encouraging everyone to stay hydrated and on the curb.

And there you had it: Campaign promise fulfilled.

Our sheriff wasn’t out making boisterous soundbites about killing trouble-makers or running down protesters in the street. No, he brought calm. Assurance. Confidence.

As with any organized protest, some motorists wave and honk in solidarity, others voice opposite opinions in various ways. The heavy black diesel exhaust blast is a favorite among the anti-protest crowd.

Well, there was this one jerk. Kept coming around the block, driving slowly past the protesters gunning an extremely loud engine and flipping off everyone on the sidewalk.

A few minutes later, I heard a whoop from the organizers. We looked over and two sheriff’s vehicles had pulled over that obnoxious driver.

Sheriff Vincent sends an unmistakable message: He will stand up to bullies. He will protect the vulnerable. Political persuasion means nothing to this man. Everyone gets a fair shake.

I posted a photo Saturday on the JWC Facebook page, very similar to today’s photo. Just three sentences. It received over 200 comments, and while most debated the national issues, several noted the sheriff’s presence.

“Out of all the rallies that we have had from the beginning of the Coffee Coalition, I don’t ever recall a sheriff coming out and walking the lines and greeting us,” one woman said.

Dave has shown us in six months that his campaign was no fluke, that his words were not empty.

We really do have a Citrus County sheriff for the people. He showed up on Saturday, just like he shows up every day.

What a fresh morning. Enjoy it, friends.

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