SUMMARY: Summarize this content to 100 words: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Community advocacy organizations in Jacksonville are voicing concerns after the sheriff announced an unspecified incident this week that led to the death of a Duval County jail inmate.Charles Faggart died on Thursday after suffering critical injuries from the incident. According to his family’s attorney, Belkis Plata, he “was beaten” and had been “brain dead” since Monday.The incident that sent Faggart to the hospital led to the removal of nine corrections staff at the Duval County jail, and Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters has asked the FBI to investigate.Now the Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) is inviting the public to a rally at 1 pm. on Sunday, on the steps of the JSO Memorial Building at 501 E Bay St., to “demand justice for all victims of police and jail violence.”JCAC said that while Faggart’s family is grieving, “this moment is about more than one tragedy.”Charles Faggart died after an ‘incident’ at the Duval County Jail. (Photo provided by family attorney)The organization wants the sheriff to release the names of the officers involved, along with any video footage of the “incident,” calling the system “corrupt.”JCAC said it also demands:The termination, indictment, and conviction of all officers involved.Civilian oversight and a Public Safety Committee to hold JSO accountable.An end to plans for a $1 billion new jail, with funds redirected to community services and rehabilitation.“We refuse to accept that jail time is a death sentence,” JCAC wrote in a news release about Sunday’s rally.MORE | Sheriff Waters asks FBI to investigate ‘incident’ involving corrections officers that left inmate critically injuredThe release pointed out “repeated scandals” at the jail, including one last year that involved a corrections officer accused of being part of a jail drug smuggling ring.“Yet instead of fixing these systemic failures, city leaders are pushing for a costly new jail—a band-aid solution that won’t stop the violence,” JCAC wrote.The Northside Coalition of Jacksonville also issued a statement on Faggart’s deaths:“The Duval County jail was ‘an incident away from a federal court order’ according to the Chief Judge of Florida’s 4th Circuit, Lance Day, and now it appears we have that incident. The FBI will investigate and the US Department of Justice should be next. The officers responsible must be held accountable, along with the Sheriff who has mismanaged the jail. The taxpayers of Jacksonville again will surely be paying out millions in a settlement due to JSO’s actions. I reiterate that we must not only improve conditions in the jail and prevent further deaths, but also reduce the need for people to be in jail in the first place.”Kelly Frazier, Northside Coalition presidentRELATED: Advocates opposed to new $1B jail in Jacksonville argue money could be better spent on community needsOn Tuesday, Sheriff T.K. Waters announced that eight correctional officers and a correctional sergeant were removed from their positions and stripped of all their corrections authority following the incident, which happened on Monday morning.Waters said he would not give details about the incident or how the inmate was injured because it was still an open investigation.The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released another statement on Thursday, saying that detectives were “working diligently to gain a complete understanding of the facts and circumstances that led to the brain death” of Faggart.Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.

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Law enforcement divided on right to make anonymous complaints

by Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
April 10, 2025

A bill that would withdraw citizens’ ability to lodge anonymous complaints against law enforcement officers sparked sharp disagreement between department leaders and rank-and-file officers before a House committee Thursday in Tallahassee.

The bill (HB 317), sponsored by Miami-Dade Republican Tom Fabricio, is supported by groups representing law enforcement officers, such as the Fraternal Order of Police. But two of the most powerful lobbyist organizations in Tallahassee — the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association — are firmly opposed.

Fabricio told members of the House Government Operations Subcommittee that his bill would not totally prohibit anonymous complaints. “What the bill says specifically is [that] before an interrogation of a police officer, the signed, sworn complaint must be given to them,” he said, emphasizing the distinction.

The House bill analysis, however, says that requiring any complaint against a law enforcement or corrections officer “be made in writing and signed under oath” in effect would be “prohibiting a person from making an anonymous complaint.”

That certainly is how the Florida Police Chiefs Association interprets the legislation. Both Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell, speaking for the chiefs, and Jennifer “Cookie” Pritt, executive director of their association, testified about why they oppose the legislation.

“It severely damages all of the progress that our profession has made with regard to transparency and accountability,” Revell said, adding that requiring a complainant to swear under oath “will effectively eliminate the vast majority of complaints and our communities’ confidence in us as the police to police ourselves.”

Pritt offered a dramatic presentation to the committee, speaking for nearly 10 minutes about how as a young police officer she was touched inappropriately and groped in a sexual way by a high-ranking command officer. She immediately reported the incident to her supervisor, who told her she shouldn’t discuss it with other officers.

That supervisor never reported the incident up the chain of command. Ultimately, the commanding officer received “some sort of remedial training on sexual harassment. He didn’t lose his job. He didn’t get demoted.”

Pritt said the point of her narrative was that she learned years later that she was not the only woman who had reported inappropriate behavior by this commander. “If you pass this bill, if anyone of these women had come forward and wished to remain anonymous, the agency I worked for then would not have been able to investigate these allegations,” she said.

“Backing the blue is about supporting the law enforcement profession, by not undermining the process by which we can hold accountable those who would tarnish the badge,” she added.

Buzz in the room

At one point during her testimony, law enforcement officials in the committee room who supported the legislation huddled among themselves, seemingly realizing how compelling Pritt’s testimony was. But it didn’t stop them from saying that the committee should vote for the proposal.

“I’m in support of the bill as written,” said James Baiardi, president of the Corrections Chapter of the Florida Police Benevolent Association.

“There’s a game out there. When correction officers are doing a good job you make a bunch of complaints against them. You get pulled off of the institution. He’s embarrassed in front of his peers that something’s wrong. If you want to make a complaint against somebody, and if you’re not lying to me, you don’t have a problem putting your name on it.”

“A lot like frivolous lawsuits there are also frivolous complaints in the criminal justice process,” added Lisa Henning, legislative liaison with the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police.

Every lawmaker on the committee who commented praised Pritt, who said it was only the second time she had publicly discussed the incident. Some said her testimony changed their minds.

“My heart broke,” said Hillsborough Republican Rep. Susan Valdés.

“I see the intention of what you’re trying to do,” Valdés told Rep. Fabricio. “And I don’t know if I can support it after hearing the testimony that we heard today.”

“I came in here as a yes vote,” added Broward County Democrat Darryl Campbell. “But after hearing those stories and realizing what is happening through their lens, I can’t vote up on this bill.”

‘Wrestling’ with scheduling the bill

Others were less sympathetic.

“If there’s some management issues in different precincts, that gets addressed,” said Miami Beach Republican Fabián Basabe.

“But we have to appreciate the fact that — and I also am curious why they’re not here? Maybe just because it’s not impactful enough to just grandstand their experiences, or maybe they just don’t want to go through it again or just revisit it. There are countless numbers of false claims that have ruined lives in law enforcement.”

The bill was approved 11-6, with Valdés and Pinellas County’s Linda Chaney the only Republicans to oppose the measure. Osceola County Democrat Jose Alvarez was the only Democrat to support the bill.

“I’ve been wrestling with putting this on the agenda for a very long time,” said Chaney, who chairs the committee that heard the bill.

Following the vote, Fabricio told the Phoenix that despite the criticism by members of the Police Chiefs Association, the bill still allows people to make anonymous complaints.

The measure has one more stop, in the Judiciary Committee, before hitting the floor of the House. Its Senate companion (SB 516), sponsored by Hillsborough County Republican Jay Collins, has yet to be heard in any committee.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.

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