Johnson was born in Jacksonville, moved to St. Augustine at 11 years old, and attended Nease High School where he excelled in art. Winning a statewide high school art fair landed him a scholarship at Flagler in the 80s where Johnson spent a couple years as an art major.
While life took him away from completing his art degree at the time, Johnson later returned to Flagler as a non-traditional student and earned his Public Administration degree in 2010. In 1993, Johnson enrolled in the local police academy “on a whim.” The biggest incentive was that his grandmother offered to fund it.
“You just pay for your books and your uniform,” she told Johnson.
In January of 2000, after a four-year stint at the St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office, Johnson joined SAPD where he worked as a Patrol Officer, on the SWAT unit, and as a detective.
The St. Augustine Police Department & Flagler College
Now, with more than two decades’ experience, Officer Johnson spoke to the SAPD presence in St. Augustine and how Flagler College benefits from their proximity and partnership.
Downtown alone, Johnson said SAPD generally keeps two active police bike units in addition to foot patrol officers. This ensures a safely monitored public area surrounding campus including any public sidewalks or streets on campus.
But when it comes to campus property, Johnson explained other steps SAPD officers can take to prevent dangerous situations.
“We are a private college,” Johnson said. “If there is an unwanted guest, they can be [charged with] trespassing... After that, if they decide they’re not leaving, then they can be arrested.”
A return to Flagler through PAD
While working as a detective, Officer Johnson’s schedule allowed him to start the Public Administration Degree (PAD) program at Flagler in 2008.
“The PAD program really helped me understand how the city functioned,” he said.
Officer Johnson said his PAD degree gave him the opportunity to apply for further role promotions at the police department and made him a more competitive candidate against his peers.
This held true when Johnson later applied for the Officer position at Flagler College.
Becoming an officer for his alma mater
“I think what really played in my favor is that I was a student here,” Officer Johnson said about his offer for this position. “I've shown a lot of interest in the college.”
The Chief of Police wanted to make the role more campus-facing than it had previously been. He wanted the officer who filled the role to interact with the students, walk campus, and “put their head in the door and say, good morning!”
If you’re a student or employee on his morning patrol routes, you’d know Officer Johnson has been holding up his end of the deal with friendly morning greetings since he accepted the role in 2017.
Establishing himself as an active presence on campus
Johnson may be most well-known for the “Coffee with a Cop” events he holds to engage with students in a casual, relaxed environment. It’s an initiative he started just six months after taking the position.
He said, “the process of coffee with a cop has been such a positive thing,” in terms of forming positive relationships with students. He opens the floor to their questions about his role as a law enforcement officer, possible safety concerns, or anything else they’d like to talk with him about.
It’s also a time that he doles out important safety advice.
“I always tell the students at Coffee with a Cop, be aware of your surroundings,” he said. “If you're going to have your ear buds in while walking [around town], just have one in so you can hear. If you go out at night, remember there’s strength in numbers, take friends.”
He also warns students about fraudulent online real estate listings in the local rental market as they search for off-campus housing.
“I try to tell all the students to stay away from Facebook posts for rentals,” he said.
Taking his duty beyond expectations
As an active member of Flagler’s Town and Gown Committee, a channel for representatives from the college and community to discuss mutually relevant issues, Officer Johnson regularly engages with residents near the College.
“They'll ask me questions,” he said. “They're actually very interested in the coffee with a cop. They'll ask me security stuff. We'll talk about things in the community.”
In January, Johnson also joined a tri-county Mobile Field Force, a team of officers who respond to situations like missing persons searches and natural disaster related incidents.
“I joined that team with the college in mind,” he said.
Officer Johnson also recently led an on-campus active shooter drill in Lewis Hall with campus security and College staff.
New security initiative on the radar
Johnson hasn’t stopped thinking of new ways to enhance student safety and security. According to Johnson, bike theft is the most common security incident he deals with on campus.
With that in mind, he’s spearheading a pilot initiative that incentivizes students to register their bikes or other valuables with the Security Office. Registering student bikes by serial number is a service the security office has long offered, but they struggled to motivate students to get on board.
“Serial numbers are unique to every bicycle, so if it is stolen, I can enter it in a national database and the state database for crime information,” Officer Johnson told The Gargoyle. “We are able to use this technology more than ever before to better track missing bikes.”
This year, Officer Johnson and the Office of Safety & Security are partnering with fellow alumnus and campus bookstore manager, Pete Previte, to provide free steel U-Locks for students who register their bike. These locks are recommended by the SAPD for their high-quality metal material that can withstand any human attempt to break.
