JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Sunday, supporters and friends of a man who died after an incident involving corrections officers at the Duval County Jail are planning a protest. Charles Faagart died earlier this week and 9 corrections officers were stripped of their duties.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Charles Faagart died earlier this week and 9 corrections officers were stripped of their duties.
Those protestors will be calling for answers from the Sheriff’s Office about what happened inside these walls that led to Faggart’s death.
Charles Faggart was arrested on April 1st, charged with domestic assault and criminal mischief.
On April 2nd, he was in court, and the judge set his bond and ordered him to have no contact with his ex-girlfriend, Savanna Storie.
Action News Jax spoke with her Thursday.
“I only wanted him to get help. I never meant for this,” Faggart’s ex-girlfriend Savanna Storie.
On April 7th, Faggart was injured in jail and went to the hospital Monday morning.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters then addressed the public about the inmate’s condition.
“That means the injuries are bad. Very bad. Bad enough for me to come out here and tell the public about it,” Sheriff Waters.
Action News Jax then got more insight from two law enforcement sources, who said Faggart was resisting while inside the jail. It’s unclear what he was resisting or why.
Both sources go on to say he was placed in a restraining chair, which is used to subdue inmates who are not complying with orders. Faggart was also pepper sprayed, but it’s not clear if the pepper spray was used while he was strapped down to the chair, according to sources.
Criminal attorney Chris Carson said that this all will become a lot clearer once the Medical Examiner’s Office report is released.
“In an event where there is a question as to whether the individual themselves caused the harm or whether the harm was caused by somebody else, sometimes you have to let the medical examination, and at this point it’ll obviously be a post-mortem, you have let that run its course because it needs to be clear what the actual cause of the serious injury and ultimate death was. You have to figure that out,” said Carson.
We asked Carson if there is a way to prove whether officers used too much force in this situation. He said that is going to be a product of the investigation.
“The fact that Sheriff Waters kind of stripped all of these individuals of their authority and went down that road, it is still suggestive to me that they maybe did get out of line here in terms of the force that was used. But as far as what it was and the extent to which it was used, I think those details are still forthcoming,” said Carson.
That protest will be held outside the Duval County Jail at 1:00 p.m. Sunday.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
