Operation Brownsville is over, but sheriff is ready to 'take show on road'

Escambia and Pensacola leaders went over the results of Operation Brownsville in their fourth and final roundtable Thursday focused on gun violence in the community.

"So what is next?" Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons asked. "This isn't my thing, I just happened to be the one that started this. I don't have a date for another roundtable, but it likely won't be (in Brownsville).

"I do think we need to start taking our show on the road pretty much," he added.

Operation Brownsville: Escambia County Sheriff has a plan for Brownsville and he's bringing other leaders along with him

Previous roundtable: Escambia sheriff has a plan to reduce gun violence. Here's what's in store:

Operation Brownsville ended in June and included a variety of different actions by community leaders and organizations.

Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May praised the county's efforts to mentor youth and help steer high school seniors toward viable jobs and careers.

"We started a youth intern program, taking young people off the streets," May said. "When you're talking about economic development, the best investment is human capital, and we're investing in our young people and giving them jobs."

May said there were over 100 kids in the intern program who were placed in various businesses and organizations throughout the county. Roughly 17 to 21 of the seniors who participated now have well-paying jobs that include retirement benefits.

He also emphasized the hundreds of thousands of dollars used to light streets throughout the Brownsville area.

United Way of West Florida President and CEO Laura Gilliam said her organization worked with the ECSO to create a resource guide for parents with high-risk teens.

"It's designed to include mental health services, after-school programs, mentoring, substance abuse disorder treatment," Gilliam said.

The site is active and can be found on United Way of West Florida's 211 website.

Many of the attendees thanked Sen. Doug Broxson, who chairs Florida's appropriations committee, for sending money to the commissioners and city council that in turn helped them push assets to the Brownsville area and its residents.

Once the county and city's new software Shotspotter is implemented into the new and improved real-time crime center, the sheriff said the next gun violence roundtable will likely be in one of the areas where Shotspotter is activated.

Simmons said this is not the end of the gun violence discussion, but he also opened the conversation to other topics that he said he doesn't have to lead.

"We can talk about anything," he said just before he closed the meeting. "We can have a roundtable about education, we can have one on the clergy, we can have one on gentrification, we can have one on homelessness and we can have one, and should have one, on fentanyl."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Operation Brownsville ends, but Sheriff Simmons says they'll move area