JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters’ request to the Jacksonville Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to help investigate an incident that left an inmate dead and resulted in nine Duval County jail officers being removed from their positions, a former FBI agent gave more insight into how the agency could help in the investigation.
Toni Chrabot, CEO of Risk Confidence Group and retired FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge, said the FBI could help with gathering facts and talking to the parties involved in the unspecified incident that resulted in the death of 31-year-old Charles Faggart.
On Tuesday, Sheriff T.K. Waters announced that eight correctional officers and a correctional sergeant were removed from their positions and stripped of all their correction authority following the incident, which happened on Monday morning.
Faggart, a food truck owner and father of a 6-year-old son, was transported to a hospital with critical injuries following the incident.
Belkis Plata, the family’s attorney, told News4JAX on Wednesday that Faggart was on a ventilator.
That same day, Waters announced that he had formally requested the FBI to help investigate the incident and sent a statement which said in part:
“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,” Waters wrote.
Waters also said he would not give details about the incident or how the inmate was injured because it was still an open investigation.
Faggar died on Thursday afternoon. Plata said he had been “brain dead” since Monday and that he “was beaten.”
News4JAX reached out to JSO to ask when was the last time the sheriff’s office had requested the FBI’s help for an incident at the jail.
JSO responded with a statement that says in part:
“This is the first time we have made this request under Sheriff Waters. Although we do not track these requests, we are providing the information we currently have in the interest of transparency,” JSO wrote.
Amanda Videll, spokesperson for the FBI Jacksonville, told News4JAX that they were not able to track for incidents at the Duval County jail, but said the agency is always ready to support JSO in any investigation as needed.
“As Sheriff Waters confirmed, FBI Jacksonville leadership has committed to provide his team with resources and personnel to aid in their investigation as needed,” Videll wrote.
Chrabot said another reason why the FBI might’ve been requested to help in the investigation is because of civil rights violations — or a color of law violations — one which deals with a failure to keep people from harm.
“When you are a law enforcement officer in any capacity, just as I was in the FBI, when you take someone into custody, you have a responsibility, a duty of care. You know that they are transported and contained by detention, as this case. So there is that duty of care, and while they are in your control,” Chrabot said. “And if this person’s rights were deprived by action or inaction, that will be problematic, and obviously, that is going to be a key point in this investigation.”
News4JAX also reached out to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to ask if it had received a request to help with this investigation.
“FDLE has not received a request to assist with this investigation,” the agency responded.
