Jordan Davis' father heads to Ferguson, Missouri

Ron Davis plans to help bring Michael Brown's family peace

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville man whose son was shot and killed at a Southside gas station in 2012 is speaking out about the problems in Ferguson, Missouri. Jordan Davis' father, Ron Davis, traveled from Jacksonville to Ferguson to help Michael Brown's grieving family. 

Channel 4's Kumasi Aaron will travel with Ron Davis to Ferguson and will continue our coverage throughout the day on News4Jax.

"I have more than empathy, I do understand what they're going through and anything I can do to help them with this process, I'll be there for them," said Ron Davis. 

He told News4Jax Thursday night that he wants to share his understanding of tragedy with Brown's family and that he hopes to help protestors craft their message into something meaningful and productive. 

Davis said hearing about Brown's death and the problems in Missouri has brought back the memories of losing his own son. 

"Oh, it comes back, absolutely it hurts. It's been not even two years yet. (It) won't be two years until Nov. 23 and it's raw, as if it happened a couple months ago, it's raw," said Davis. 

He boarded a plane to Missouri Friday. He said he wants to connect with protestors in Ferguson and area leaders, but he said his biggest goal is to offer comfort to Brown's family. Brown was shot at least six times by Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson. 

"We have some people with the U.S. Human Rights Network and they've been on the ground for about five or six days. So hopefully, we'll have some meetings with the community leaders... Ss far as the community is concerned, I'm gonna talk to them and make sure that peace prevails. And also I want to talk to the family. That's the main reason why I'm traveling," said Davis.

He told News4Jax that he will be working with an organization called U.S. Human Rights Network and that he hopes to narrow the focus for the outraged, unhappy groups in Ferguson. Ron Davis said he feels the unrest can be turned into something helpful. 

"A lot of times when you do protest, people listening, law enforcement, legislators, they hear may be a hundreds things. Of course they can't act on these things, so what you have to do is narrow it down to what you want," he said. "That way we can say we've accomplished something for Ferguson."

Davis said the biggest accomplishment he plans on making is helping the Brown family move forward by taking time to bury their son.

"I say to them, do all that before you think about all this political and community things. All that can be set aside, taken care of later. The number one thing is to be with your child and bury your child," said Davis.

News4Jax's Kumasi Aaron traveled with Ron Davis to Ferguson, Missouri. News4Jax will bring you live reports from Ferguson Friday afternoon and evening. 


About the Author:

Kent Justice co-anchors News4Jax's 5 p.m., 10 and 11 p.m. newscasts weeknights and reports on government and politics. He also hosts "This Week in Jacksonville," Channel 4's hot topics and politics public affairs show each Sunday morning at 9 a.m.