Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters has asked for the FBI’s help as it investigates an incident that left a Duval County Jail inmate with ‘catastrophic injuries.’
On Tuesday, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced the suspension of eight corrections officers and one corrections sergeant for an unspecified incident that happened Monday in the Duval County Jail.
A verified GoFundMe confirmed the inmate, Charles Faggart, is still fighting for his life.
RELATED: ‘Deeper and bigger problems’: Inmate safety at Duval County Jail under question after injury
Faggart owns “Chop it Charlie’s”- a food truck that makes stops across northeast Florida.
A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrest report shows Faggart was arrested on April 1 for domestic violence charges after allegedly threatening a pregnant woman.
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Sheriff T.K. Waters announced Wednesday that he had asked the FBI to help investigate.
“I think the Sheriff’s Office is trying to right the ship and fix the culture because when you have a culture that says their rights don’t matter and they’re less than human, this is the type of stuff that results from that,” said Andrew Bonderud, a civil rights and criminal defense lawyer.
He has worked a similar case, representing the family of a man who died in JSO custody.
Related: City settles with family of a man who died after not getting life-saving medication in custody
He says JSO is doing the right thing.
“Credit should be given where credit is due. This is what most people would think the sheriff should do, under the circumstances,” said Bonderud.
Faggart’s attorney, Belkis Plata, said the family still doesn’t know what happened or how he got so badly hurt. She told Action News Jax Faggart has been placed on a ventilator.
“This incident has placed an overwhelming emotional and financial burden on the family. Mr. Faggart is a father to a six-year-old son, who now faces the likelihood of growing up without a dad.”
The names of the officers involved have not been released.
Bonderud said JSO’s Integrity Unit will investigate alongside the FBI. But asking for help from federal agents, he said, speaks volumes. “He didn’t have to do this. This was designed to build trust. And I think it does. I think it does by asking for scrutiny and assistance from outsiders – not state, but federal outsiders,” said Bonderud.
Below are the full statements received on Wednesday from both Faggart’s attorney and Sheriff T.K. Waters:
Statement from Belkis Plata of Plata Schott Law, representing Faggart’s family:
“As counsel for the family of Charles Faggart, I confirm that Mr. Faggart is the individual referenced in recent reports involving life threatening injuries sustained while in custody at the Duval County Jail. Mr. Faggart remains hospitalized and is on a ventilator. The family is devastated and demands answers regarding how Charles sustained such catastrophic injuries while in the custody and under the supervision of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office — a place where he should have been kept safe.
“This incident has placed an overwhelming emotional and financial burden on the family. Mr. Faggart is a father to a six-year-old son, who now faces the likelihood of growing up without a dad.
“The family has established a GoFundMe page to assist with mounting medical expenses and provide support for Lincoln during this extremely difficult time.
“The Faggart family respectfully requests privacy as they await answers. They are calling for a thorough and transparent investigation and for those responsible to be brought to justice.”
Statement from Sheriff T.K. Waters:
“Transparency is the foundation of public trust. The public’s confidence in the integrity of the April 7th critical incident investigation and in our agency’s commitment to transparency is of paramount concern to me. In that spirit, I spoke with leadership at the Jacksonville Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. Today, I formally requested the investigative assistance of the FBI to work cooperatively with our detectives concerning the incident that recently occurred in the Duval County Jail. This remains an active criminal investigation, and there is no additional information that I can provide at this time about the facts and circumstances of this critical incident. We will provide our federal partners with all the information they need to conduct their investigation.”
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