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Hernando Today

Committee Against Cop Assaults Calls For Public Support

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: January 12, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - In a quiet room in the heart of Brooksville, grand plans are being made.

Seated at the head of the table is Mickey Cook, snowy-haired, slender and smiling. Her voice is soft yet commanding in the stillness of the meeting hall.

"This will be the year we grow," said Cook, 74. "I see us going statewide and, eventually, countrywide." She continued: "Our words for this year are, 'we can and we will.'"

Her welcome to 2009's first meeting of the Committee Against Assaults on Law Enforcement Officers was not met with thunderous applause. With just under 10 people in attendance, that simply wasn't possible.

But her words did charge the fledgling group with a sense of purpose and enthusiasm.

The committee was founded by Cook in 1981 when she lived in Miami-Dade County. Its purpose is to bring awareness of the dangers law enforcement face on a daily basis and follow court cases involving battery on officers.

Cook was inspired to organize the committee after watching someone try to snatch an officer's side arm. The officer was dumbfounded when she volunteered to serve as a court witness for him.

Her credo: "Officers are not punching bags."

It's not just violence that the committee is trying to curb. Cops are subjected to verbal abuse as well. The public needs to understand that law enforcement officers are people with feelings, too, Cook said.

Her mission has met with resistance from high places. When she first got started, many dismissed her as intentions as "meddling," including then State Attorney General for Dade County Janet Reno.

Finally, after more than a dozen South Florida police agencies got involved, Reno conceded, "I still don't like you, but I do admire you." Cook is still puzzling over whether that was a backhanded compliment.

The organization continued to grow by leaps and bounds until Cook moved to Brooksville in 1999. After gaining support from then Sheriff Tom Mylander, Cook established a local chapter.

Sheriff Richard Nugent gave his blessing when he was elected in 2000 and the committee has continued to flourish since then. Particularly popular are the annual luncheons hosted by the committee in honor of law enforcement.

Helping out Cook with the committee is a small core of community representatives. Among them is Paul Sullivan, who was asked to serve on the committee when he was a county commissioner 10 years ago.

Sullivan declined at the time, but he accepted Cook's second offer. Sullivan brings some law enforcement perspective to the committee as a certified corrections officer who worked a few years at the women's prison.

Sullivan believes that for this committee to succeed the community needs to become more involved.

Law enforcement "is an occupation that people take for granted," he said.

To learn more about how you can help or apply for a membership to the committee, call Mickey Cook at 797-9102.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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