Q&A
We spoke with Sheriff T.K. Waters following the arrest of former JSO officer Josue Garriga -- who has been under fire before, and is now accused of sex crimes. We spoke with Sheriff T.K. Waters following the arrest of former Jacksonville Sheriff's Office officer, Josue Garriga, who was involved in multiple controversial incidents at the time and is now facing charges of sex crimes. Waters defended the case of Officer Garigga as not illegal, stating that the State Attorney reviewed the case and the Department of Justice confirmed that there was nothing illegal about what had taken place. He also mentioned that the Jamee Johnson case was not illegal. Waters stated that the alleged incidents were not directly related to his everyday duties at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and that these incidents did not occur while he was working. Waters also addressed the ongoing investigation into allegations of crime and gang violence, but insisted that the department had been cleared of any wrongdoing. He said that the case was handled properly outside of Jacksonville.
Опубликовано : 4 недели назад от Renata Di Gregorio в
We spoke with Sheriff T.K. Waters following the arrest of former JSO officer Josue Garriga -- who has been under fire before, and is now accused of sex crimes.
Officer Garigga was involved in multiple different controversial incidents in his years at JSO before his arrest. There are many people in the community who we're hearing from who are expressing frustration over this. Do you believe JSO can do more when it comes to accountability?
Waters: First off, let's rewind just a little bit. You said "controversial." When we talk about officer-involved shootings and these incidents -- that case was not illegal. He was defending his own life. The State Attorney reviewed the case, who, they make the prosecutorial decisions on whether or not a case is legal or not.
Waters: That's correct. The Jamee Johnson case. That case was not illegal. Like I've always said, use-of-force is a tough thing, especially deadly force. It's tough thing, especially for people to see. So, when you say multiple incidents, there was another incident with Le'Keian Woods. That's one of the ones you're asking about. Again, not illegal. You can't have a unit, or people that are concerned about crime in our community, gang violence ---- because people ask me about it all the time -- and have a unit that is there to address those issues. And when tough things happen, (people) expect us to immediately fire someone without an investigation.
The investigation process went through. They were cleared of any wrongdoing. As a matter of fact, I believe they called on -- the activists called on -- the Department of Justice to be involved. They did. Guess what they said? There was nothing illegal about what had taken place. So, you can't fire someone or remove someone from their job for not doing anything illegal, or doing anything wrong, no matter how hard it is to see. That's what, that's one of the points I wanted to get across.
The second question was kind of related to that, if you can answer this, was just how long he had been continuing to be on the force while the investigation was going on.
Waters: I can't address that either. But what I can say: we knew there was no danger to the public. These incidents, or these alleged incidents, did not occur while he was working, that we know of. And they had nothing to do with his everyday duties at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Also, during the process of a case like this, we have to give the Clay County Sheriff's Office the opportunity to work the case. And that's what they were doing in the process.
Sheriff, you've been pretty vocal recently about multiple cases, with JSO's credibility being impacted in public, specifically thinking of the settlement with Jamee Johnson's family and then Emogene King's claims about JSO during that car crash. (*Editors note: You can read about that case by clicking here.) So what do you believe that Garriga's arrest will do to that credibility? And how do you hope to restore it?
Waters: You know, I think that Garriga's arrest will do, it will show that it doesn't matter who it is. It doesn't matter what's happening. We are honest, we are forthcoming. We worked with our partners over in Clay County, to make sure that we were able to get everything that was needed for this to happen. And I think it's going to show, honestly speaking, I think it's going to show our willingness to stand up. You know, I just came from Tallahassee, I was in Tallahassee all day , taking care of a previous engagement. But I wanted to come and address these things. Because just as you said, I am out front, very, very aware and very open about dealing with issues that arise. So I wanted to bring you in and ask you these questions.
Waters: No, because we do a very good job of, you know, investigating our own employees. Two, this incident didn't happen in Jacksonville, it happened in Clay County. So, the appropriate law enforcement agency investigated the case and made the arrest with our assistance when asked. And it's simple. If the case had happened here, and he lived in Clay County, then we would investigate the case, we'd go to Clay County with them to make sure that it was handled properly because it was outside of Jacksonville. We let the appropriate agency work those cases because that's the right thing to do. That's how that's how those cases were handled.
Темы: Law Enforcement