JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville police officer who survived a brutal on-duty beating says the hardest part of recovery wasn’t only physical — it was learning how to let go of the anger.
Officer Jennifer Scott sat down with me to explain why she chose to forgive the man who attacked her — and why she told him so in court last week, during his sentencing hearing.
It was the first time she had faced Joseph Merrill since the 2023 attack outside a Walmart on Philips Highway that left her with a broken jaw and and a traumatic brain injury.
‘Today, I choose to forgive’
During the hearing, Scott, whose last name was Johnson at the time of the attack, read a victim impact statement that stunned many in the courtroom:…