The awards were due to be presented at an October 2019 banquet planned by the St. Augustine Record and GateHouse, its corporate owner, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in St. Augustine Beach.
In further developments:
- Both the Rusty Rodgers and Debra Maynard nominations were accepted and approved on the morning of Monday, August 26, 2019.
- Both nominees Rusty Rodgers and Debra Maynard were due to receive certificates, and possibly more, at the banquet.
- Within two hours, I received an off-the-wall one-sentence August 26, 2019 pejorative hate e-mail purporting to be from our St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR, who legally changed his name from "HOAR" in 1994. [It was what Washington Post Managing Editor Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee would have termed a "non-denial denial" in response to my request for a forensic investigation of the St. Johns County Sheriff Office in the wake of $702,771 embezzlement by SHOAR's Finance Director, RAYE BRUTNELL.
- The nominations deadline was extended several times, the last time until 11:59 pm on October 13.
- The First Responder Heroes banquet was rescheduled for December.
- Record print advertising of the event ceased.
- Now the First Responder Heroes banquet is cancelled, announced on Facebook.
- No reason was given.
- Did Sheriff SHOAR boycott the banquet, refusing to buy tickets?
- Sorehead SHOAR uses a 501c3, the "FOUR STAR ASSOCIATION, INC." to pay for other banquets in honor of local law enforcement.
- Did SHOAR pull the plug on this banquet in retaliation for two honorees>
Here are the nominations that were approved and accepted:
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Michelle O'Connell Murder Case Hero: Deputy Debra Maynard Nominated for GateHouse newspapers' First Responder Hero Award
I just nominated Deputy Debra Maynard for a GateHouse newspapers First Responder Hero Award, stating in haec verba:
St. Johns County Deputy Debra Maynard responded to the September 2, 2010 shooting death of Ms. Michelle O'Connell in the home of St. Johns County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Banks at his home at 4700 Sherlock Place in rural St. Johns County. Deputy Maynard helped investigate and described the prime subject's observed behavior in a murder investigation conducted by Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Rusty Ray Rodgers. Then Deputy Maynard was retaliated against by Sheriff David Shoar. She lost her job. Yet Deputy Maynard survived Sheriff Shoar's retaliatory attempt to revoke her FCJSTC credentials. Deputy Debra Maynard told the truth to The New York Times, PBS Frontline, et al. Deputy Maynard is an example for all law enforcement officers of the need for courage. Deputy Maynard honored her oath. Deputy Maynard exemplifies the values of honor, courage and sacrifice of the First Responder Hero award.
Here are links to the 2013 and 2017 New York Times and PBS Frontline news stories:
Friday, August 23, 2019
Michelle O'Connell Murder Case Hero: FDLE Special Agent Rusty Ray Rodgers Nominated for GateHouse newspapers' First Responder Hero Award
I just nominated FDLE Special Agent Rusty Ray Rodgers for a GateHouse newspapers First Responder Hero Award, stating in haec verba:
40 years of honest, effective law enforcement in Florida.
As The New York Times reported in 2017:
"Working for the Jacksonville sheriff, [Special Agent Rusty Ray Rodgers] doggedly pursued a rapist who preyed on poor women and prostitutes. 'They deserve justice just as much as someone who lives on the Southside,' he told the local paper, referring to the wealthier part of town. The rapist got 45 years."
"Later, Agent Rodgers joined the state’s elite investigative unit, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where he quickly earned agent-of-the-year honors — and a meeting with the governor — for helping dismantle a terrorist financing network that stretched from Florida to the Middle East."
As reported by The New York Times, Special Agent Rusty Ray Rodgers was retaliated against by controversial St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar. Documents and interviews established that Sheriff Shoar assembled a one-sided, misleading, 153 page prosecution brief and worked to get Special Agent Rodgers both fired and prosecuted -- all in retaliation for his dogged investigation of the September 2, 2010 shooting death of Ms. Michelle O'Connell in the home of St. Johns County Sheriff Deputy Jeremy Banks at 4700 Sherlock Place.
Under pressure, FDLE put Special Agent Rodgers on paid leave for some three years during an investigation requested by Sheriff Shoar. A vexatious lawsuit by Deputy Banks hung over Special Agent Rodgers' head for five years, finally dismissed by United States District Court Judge Brian J. Davis on March 30, 2018. Deputy Banks did not appeal.
Special Agent Rusty Ray Rodgers is an example for all law enforcement officers of the need for courage under fire, and to enforce the law without fear or favor.
Special Agent Rodgers honored his oath. Special Agent Rodgers exemplifies the values of honor, courage and sacrifice of the First Responder Hero award.
Here are links to the 2013, 2017 and 2018 New York Times and PBS Frontline news stories:
This event has been cancelled! We will publish a special feature highlighting area first responders in December. More details to come! If you purchased tickets you will receive a refund.
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