Lonnie Scott, the Gainesville Police Department’s acting chief, will officially take over as its head July 25, the city announced Wednesday.
Scott’s career with GPD began in 1985 and continued until he started working in Tallahassee law enforcement in 2014. He returned to serve as GPD’s assistant chief of police in 2020 and has worked with the department’s Community Oriented Policing Team to resolve neighborhood problems, the release said. As chief of police, Scott said he would focus on improving his department’s relationship with the general community.
“No more community separated from law enforcement,” he said. “Law enforcement is part of the community, just like teachers are [and] doctors are.”
Scott recognized law enforcement is a generally reactive profession, responding to crimes when they occur. The department should work with the community to address underlying causes of law-breaking, he said, whether it’s poverty, lack of educational opportunities or mental health issues.
He thinks the community must overcome division to address concerns of violence, an issue he said he would prioritize during his time as chief.
“You keep pointing at the other side saying that they’re wrong,” he said, “but we all are standing by while our children are being killed and not taking the measures that are necessary to stop it.”
Value systems play a role in the proliferation of violence, Scott said, and parents need to instill a value for human life in their children in order to curb violence in the city.
Scott hopes his tenure leads to a removal of the barrier between the police department and the community and reduces the number of deaths from gun and other types of violence.
Curry also announced Tony Jones, the city’s acting chief operating officer, will become a special adviser for juvenile justice and community support programs.
Jones took the position earlier this year after serving as the city’s police chief since 2009.
A new interim chief operating officer has not yet been named, according to a City of Gainesville news release.
Contact Omar at oateyah@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @OAteyah.
Omar Ateyah is a third-year journalism student and the Alligator's Race and Equity reporter. He previously served as the Alligator's crime reporter and as a news assistant on the Metro Desk. He enjoys going on long, thoughtful walks.
