JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Questions remain Wednesday morning as to what caused an inmate in the Duval County jail to be hospitalized. The inmate was injured Monday morning and is in critical condition, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said at a news conference Tuesday.
Waters also said that eight of his corrections officers and one sergeant will be removed from their positions at the jail and stripped of their corrections authority.
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When asked if any arrests were made as a result of what occurred, Waters said no.
“The safety and security of our inmates of those housed in our jail, is a priority for this agency, and I assure the public that this investigative process will be thorough, competent, and comprehensive,” Waters said.
The Sheriff said the removal of the officers from their positions was “out of an abundance of caution.”
Action News Jax talked to attorney Chris Carson for his legal opinion on the sheriff’s actions.
“It doesn’t sound like this is just an abundance of caution situation, because I think they would have been more deliberate,” Carson said. “They would have just said, hey, they’re on paid leave or something like that.”
Names of the officers and the inmate were not released.
Carson said while Waters did not give much information about what happened to the inmate, the things the sheriff did say show it’s serious.
“The fact that they immediately stripped all of these officers of their power, it is suggestive to me that there probably is something to it,” said Carson.
We also asked Carson, what the investigative process looks like from here.
“They are going to gather evidence. They are going to talk to witnesses. There are lots of areas in the jail where there are recordings that are taken. They’re going to look at all of that, and then they will just simply progress forward,” said Carson.
See sheriff’s news conference below
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