JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A Jacksonville police officer who survived a brutal on-duty beating says the hardest part of recovery wasn\u2019t only physical \u2014 it was learning how to let go of the anger.<\/p>\n
Officer Jennifer Scott sat down with me to explain why she chose to forgive the man who attacked her \u2014 and why she told him so in court last week, during his sentencing hearing<\/a>. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u2018Today, I choose to forgive\u2019<\/p>\n 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:<\/p>\n \u201cToday, I choose to forgive the defendant because I refuse to let my life be defined by anger. Instead, I choose healing, resilience, and moving forward in peace,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n RELATED: JSO officer who survived brutal assault while on duty describes painful journey since 2023 attack<\/a><\/p>\n Scott told me that she\u2019d felt a \u201ctug\u201d toward forgiveness for a long time \u2014 and that she needed it in order to heal.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want to walk out of that courtroom with any more anger, resentment, any bad feelings,\u201d Scott said. \u201cI wanted to move forward in life without the anger.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott said standing at the podium and making eye contact with Merrill was something she hadn\u2019t been able to do in the three years since the attack \u2014 and that finally speaking directly to him felt like reclaiming her voice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt good,\u201d she said. \u201cTo look at him in the eyes and say, \u2018Look, I forgive you\u2026 I choose forgiveness.\u2019 I will never forget the look that was on his face.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott said Merrill didn\u2019t stop looking at her as she spoke \u2014 and that it did not feel like an attempt to intimidate her. Instead, she said, she hopes her words reached him.<\/p>\n \u201cI truly felt like maybe for just a split second even, that he was maybe sorry for what he did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Why she stopped to watch him leave<\/p>\n After Scott finished speaking, court was adjourned. But she said there was one more moment she wanted to see before walking back over to her family.<\/p>\n As Merrill was led away in handcuffs, Scott stopped, turned around, and watched Merrill being taken out of the courtroom. She told me it was intentional \u2014 and emotional.<\/p>\n \u201cI just remember I had that moment by myself standing there in that courtroom, knowing that I was watching him walk away for the very last time,\u201d Scott said. \u201cKnowing I will never see you again for the rest of my life\u2026 I just wanted to watch him walk out.\u201d<\/p>\n Merrill was sentenced to 28 years in prison after pleading guilty May 13 to aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, carrying a concealed weapon by a convicted felon, resisting an officer with violence, depriving an officer of means of protection or communication, and felony petty theft.<\/p>\n Scott said that moment, watching Merrill leave the courtroom, was the moment she truly released what she\u2019d been carrying.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was in that moment where I just really released everything and that was when I forgave him, right then and there,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n Her husband, Roy Scott, was in the courtroom too \u2014 watching as Jennifer spoke to the man who nearly killed her three years ago. <\/p>\n He said her strength was hard to put into words.<\/p>\n \u201cOur God, He forgives, and we\u2019re forgiven,\u201d Roy Scott said. \u201cI think when you are, it\u2019s a little bit easier to forgive others when they\u2019ve wronged you. I think that\u2019s the motivation behind Jennifer\u2026 and the strength that she showed that day.\u201d<\/p>\n How their children are coping<\/p>\n But even after sentencing, the impact on the Scotts\u2019 family continues \u2014 especially for their children. Officer Scott said their kids still ask questions that show the fear hasn\u2019t fully gone away.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we\u2019re driving, and we\u2019re near the jail\u2026 the kids will say, \u2018Is he still in there? Is the bad guy still in there?\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Scott said she reassures them that Merrill is not getting out anytime soon.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, he\u2019s in there. He\u2019s not getting out. And he\u2019s not going anywhere,\u201d she said. \u201c28 years.\u201d<\/p>\n A new purpose <\/p>\n Officer Scott remains with the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office \u2014 and says she\u2019s found a new purpose after everything she\u2019s endured. <\/p>\n She recently moved into a new position focused on health and wellness, where she hopes to help others in law enforcement who are struggling.<\/p>\n \u201cFor a while there\u2026 I felt like I lost purpose,\u201d Scott said. \u201cYou lose a sense of your identity.\u201d<\/p>\n But she said the new assignment feels like the right fit \u2014 and a chance to use her experience to support others.<\/p>\n \u201cI have found my purpose, and that is to help my\u2026 brothers and sisters at the agency,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you\u2019re struggling, going through a hard time\u2026 I\u2019m here for you\u2026 It\u2019s all about changing the stigma\u2026 knowing that it\u2019s OK to say, \u2018Hey, I need help.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Scott said she will always remember the attack \u2014 but she refuses to allow it to define the rest of her life.<\/p>\n Violent assault<\/p>\n On Feb. 23, 2023, Officer Scott responded to a shoplifting call at the Walmart on Philips Highway.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where she first encountered Merrill.<\/p>\n Scott said that when she approached Merrill in the parking lot about the shoplifting report, he suddenly punched her in the mouth, knocking her to the ground. <\/p>\n At that moment, JSO Sgt. Steven Rudlaff happened to be driving by the business on his way to work and saw the sucker punch.<\/p>\n And what came next.<\/p>\n \u201cI was driving this way, and I looked over, I was like, \u2018Oh, she\u2019s got somebody stopped.\u2019 Next (thing) I know, he punches her in the face. She falls down, and he\u2019s punching her,\u201d Rudlaff said previously.<\/p>\n