Stuart H. Brown

Matt, you just happened to run into the worst of the worst. Officer Larry gives all law enforcement as well as park employees a bad image. Most allincidents you hear aboutinvolve him. I'd complain to the higher ups. Hedefinately needssome anger management classes. And as much as I high hate taxes/fees/licenses andgovernment interventiona required boaters course wouldn't be such a bad idea. I cannot think of any other situation where you can purchase a vehicle of whatever size or makeup you want and operate it on public property. Way too many people without a clue out driving boats with no regard for anyone else. This incident may not have ever happened if everyone was required to be educated about thesevery laws/rules. SHB

Matt Mcleod

I'm sorry I thought I had addressed this in an earlier post but I guess it wasn't clear. My point wasn't really to make this about Larry Edwards. My point was that due to my experience with this officer I did some research about out rights at the park and was surprised at what I learned.

With that being said since I have been asked to clarify what happened I would be glad to.

Today I contacted the chief ranger for the park, his name is Clay Jordan. I made a complaint by way of an informal complaint against Larry Edwards. An informal complaint is done over the phone and is supposed to result in an internal investigation into the incident. A formal complaint is made in writing and carries with it a oath type situation in which you swear that your story is truthful. I was emailed the paperwork for my formal complaint and will submit it in the next couple days. I have no problem putting my version of events in writingand would welcome anyone who was there to contest my story.

Clay Jordan dealt with my complaint VERY professionally, making sure I clearly understood the process and seemed to be truly concerned about my experience.

So let's get to what happened. My boat was located on the east side of the old pier. I was approx 50' from the old pier and probably 300+ feet from the fishing pier. As many people know there is a sign on the fishing pier that states "No boats or swimmers within 200 feet". I was outside that radius. As I found out later due to my own research I was in violation of part b of statute 36 CFR 1.5-21 which states that boats must also be 200' from the remnants of the old pier. At the time I did not know this and in fact had been given information that was false from state law enforcement.

So Larry Edwards came down to the end of the fishing pier and let the few boats that were near the fishing pier know that they had to leave. I was the last boat that he communicated with because I was the furthest from him. I tried to communicate with him that I had been told that I was allowed to be where I was, but due to the distance we had a hard time communicating. That was the only time my voice was elevated and that was strictly due to the distance between us. My tone was calm and collected at that time and for the entire experience. At this point he called me over to the fishing pier, I thought so we could communicate better. At no time did I refuse to leave or become disrespectful. I trolling motored over to the fishing pier and began the conversation with "I don't mean to cause a problem here but I have been given different information about the rules around here and would like some clarification". Well I got as far as "I don't mean to cause a problem here but...... and Officer Edwards began to scream at me. I describedhis attitude and tone to Clay Jordan as "furious" "angry" and "out of control", which is exactly what it was.

Once again let me say at no point did I raise my voice, become aggressive, or do anything to make him believe I did not plan on leaving the prohibited area. I thought I was going to get information to help me clarify where I was allowed to be and where I was not allowed to be.That did not happen, he was much more concerned with screaming at me than helping me understand the rules.

Officer Edwards told me something I will never forget as long as I live.He said "I am a man in uniform and the authority out here, and you will do anything I tell you to!" Clay Jordan found this statement as shocking and appalling as I did, and when asked made it clear that that statementin no way resembles their policy at the park.

It did not take long to figure out that me getting screamed at was not going to get me the information or clarification I wanted so I told Larry to have a nice day, and promptly left.

My formal compliant will be just like the statement above. I believe that I was treated with no respect by someone who I treated with respect. His position exists to serve me, to serve us, the patrons of the park and citizens of our country. I don't believe that Larry Edwards exhibits qualities that make it possible for him to interact with the community in a civil servant position.

__________________
Captain Matt Mcleod
www.hotspotscharters.com
www.hotspotstackle.com

JLMass

Matt what did you do too tyler he came home at 6:30 and went to sleep .................................. also i was only protecting the right of the park to exist not the people who work there

broxson16

I believe that I was treated with no respect by someone who I treated with respect. His position exists to serve me, to serve us, the patrons of the park and citizens of our country.





Well said Matt.

user10068

Matt - I copied the last sentence from your last post - you are saying that Officer Edwards is fit to"interact with the community" and I do not believe that is your intent.

"I don't believe that Larry Edwards exhibits qualities that make it impossible for him to interact with the community in a civil servant position."

I would suggesteither one of the two modifications:

"I believe that...."

or

"...that make it possible for him...".

The dreaded double negative strikes again.

BOHUNTER1

LITTLE MAN SYNDROME!

Send emails everyday until you get the right response. Make sure you include Larrys email to them. Speak of local papers and other formats of the issues regarding Ft Pickens Authorties. I have never had an isse but then again I have never spent more than a few minutes out there of late. If he verbally assaults you, discriminates you, or harrasses you, thenfile a Personal Suit against him. After that file a Federal suit against him... Nothing like being served some papers and you not knowing what they are for. He wont sleep and it will cause him issues!

:O)

Matt Mcleod

Whoops! Got it fixed now, thanks.

__________________
Captain Matt Mcleod
www.hotspotscharters.com
www.hotspotstackle.com

johnsonbeachbum

Very nicely explained, thank you.



And I agree with your assessment and your position with Edwards.

It would be tremendously beneficial for all if your fishing buddies that were on the boat filed the same papers as you. The more eyewitnesses the better.



Personally I would like to see Edwards removed from his duties as a Ranger for similar actions on Johnson Beach.

This is at least the fourth time he has been reported being a tyrant.



He came here from another park after being forced out and demoted for the same type of conduct.



Back to your original intent of your post being the loss of freedoms in the park......................



99% of all rules and laws we run into in life are the result of people before you causing problems.

If everyone behaved all the time there would be no rules.

spear em

oh yea i am more than happy to share what i do for a living CAPTAIN, i am a third generation LEO. my grandfather, my father and i have proudly served the public for over sixty years combined. did someone put a gun to my head and make me take this job ? hell no, i did it because i wanted to serve others. again, i am not defending the ranger or his attitude. i dont know the man and it sounds like i dont want to know the man based on what has been typed by other people. and no i will not find another job, i love my job and all of the laughs and abuse that comes with it. would you roll out of bed tonight and leave your wife and child and lay your life on the line for me ? no you would not. would i do it for you and any other person on this earth being a tax payer or not ? YES SIR i would. and again before you start beating your chest and screaming " i am a tax payer, kneel down and show me some respect " the lady at the license office is a tax payer, the garbage man is a tax payer, even theillegal alien that just bought some gas and clothing paidtaxes on his purchase. and as far as end of story, i will end my story on my own terms not yours.

bash away Captain, i am through with this.

and as far as you MR. Ranger, if you are treating people like this while serving in a uniform, please do the rest of us a favor and find another line of work, you make itvery hard on us older guys.