The Madison County Community joined together for C.L.O.T. community forum

On Saturday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m. at the Madison County Courthouse, citizens came out to a community forum led by local church leaders and law enforcement. The event titled C.L.O.T, which stands for Community Law Orientation Training, served to inform community members on how to rebuild trust between citizens and law enforcement. Minister Steve McHargue, a chaplain with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), facilitated the panel presentation. The panelists included Madison County Sheriff Ben Stewart; Pastor Jonathan McGriff, retired Orlando police officer; Judge Augustus D. Aikens, Leon County judge and Reverend Marcus Hawkins, pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. Elder Sim Alexander, pastor of Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church, along with Minister Edna Haynes-Turner, C.L.O.T coordinator, wanted to start an initiative that would heal the distrust between members of the community. The C.L.O.T. initiative is a collaboration between Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church and the Madison County Community. The goal of C.L.O.T. is to promote healing and restoration in the Madison community, especially between citizens and law enforcement. In the future, the initiative will focus on healing families and other entities in the lives of community members. “Healing can’t happen until there is reconciliation, restoration and a level of trust,” said Minister Edna Haynes-Turner. The 2015 C.L.O.T. theme is Reconciliation, Restoration and Healing. Haynes-Turner said that there are plans to have an event each month to continue the healing process. Sheriff Stewart spoke about developing positive relationships between law enforcement and the community. “I’m elected by the people, I have to answer the people,” said Stewart. Stewart said he has an open door policy and wants to know the issues going on in the community. Madison officers wear body cameras while on duty. It is also policy that any incidents that occur with the sheriff’s office be investigated by an outside agency. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) does all investigating for the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. “If we don’t talk about these issues, they’ll never get solved,” said Stewart, “they’ll only keep getting worse.” Panelists encouraged citizens to obey the law despite distrust for law enforcement. “The best way not to get involved with a physical encounter with a police officer is simply to obey the law,” said McGriff. McGriff encouraged citizens to take responsibility for their actions, iterating the police can’t be blamed. McGriff also challenged parents to take responsibility for their children and to begin teaching them how to deal with law enforcement at home. “We [law enforcement] respond to symptoms of society,” said McGriff, “We can’t fix communities.” C.L.O.T. will host community events every month to continue to restore trust for the citizens of Madison County. For more information on upcoming C.L.O.T events contact Minister Edna Haynes-Turner at (850) 590-7519.