JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The usually low-profile CSX Transportation Railroad Police said it’s increasing its activities in Jacksonville in response to last month’s triple homicide on West Third Street, and the company is contributing much of the reward money offered yesterday.
The Florida Times-Union reports that a variety of organizations, including CSXT and the Justice Coalition, said a $15,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in connection to the Sept. 26 drive-by shooting. Johnnie Gatlin, 46, and her two nephews, Chris Kirkland, 12, and Deon Kirkland, 13, were killed while Gatlin drove her two nephews home from football practice.
CSXT’s police usually stick to crimes on railroad property. But the incident happened near CSXT’s Moncrief railyard, and Frank Sanders, director of railroad police, said his department is combining a heightened awareness in the neighborhood with the distribution of fliers because of the heinousness of the crime.
“This being our community, we’re real interested in seeing that justice is done,” he said. “Our intent is community-minded.”
CSXT’s Railroad Police keep a low-profile, but it’s a law enforcement agency with trained and armed special agents who have arrest powers across the 23 states in which the railroad operates. Last year, CSXT special agents made 1,600 arrests on 15,000 criminal incidents.
Federal and state laws allow railroads to organize private police forces, and all major U.S. railroads have them, Sanders said.
Although Sanders wouldn’t say how many special agents work for CSXT, he said they go through the same training as city police do in addition to extra training relating to railroad operations. CSXT also requires its special agents to have at least a year of law enforcement experience before joining its police force.
With track over 23,000 miles of routes, CSXT has plenty of territory to cover. Sanders said CSXT properties in Chicago and New Jersey have the highest crime rates. Theft and vandalism are the main problems.
In the Northeast, clothing is a popular target for thieves; in the South, it’s liquor and cigarettes. Frozen shrimp is also a frequent target, Sanders said.
“People will steal almost anything if the opportunity exists,” he said.
His department tries to reduce those opportunities. One of the best ways to do that is to prevent trespassers, and the railroad identified 10,000 last year, Sanders said.
The railroad police operates out of a CSX building in the Southpoint office park with a communications room handling all CSXT’s emergency calls.