NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A now-former Nassau County Sheriff’s Office sergeant, who is one of three deputies who were arrested and fired on Thursday following a “double dipping” investigation, had been previously suspended for making racially insensitive remarks, according to the internal investigation report.
Sergeant Wilfred Quick is among six deputies who were fired this week after an investigation into allegations of “double dipping.” The investigation found he and four other deputies were submitting time sheets for payment by the agency while also being paid by a private employer while working “secondary employment” off-duty. A sixth deputy was fired after the sheriff’s office found he was submitting time on his time sheets when he was home and not working.
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News4JAX obtained a copy of an internal investigation report that showed that in 2023, Quick was suspended for two weeks after the agency determined he had made racially insensitive comments toward two of his colleagues and a community member.
The investigation against Quick began on May 4, 2023, after a fellow deputy filed a formal complaint with the sheriff’s office in connection with two separate incidents that happened on May 1 and one the following day.
The report states the deputy did not initially want to file a formal complaint because “he wanted to avoid starting something and coming off as a rat.” However, after speaking to his wife, he decided to move forward with the complaint.
The deputy, who was in training, told investigators Quick approached him to ask if he was “Mexican-Hispanic, Latino-Hispanic, or what.” The deputy then asked Quick if he was trying to ask him his race, and the sergeant responded, “Yes, that’s correct,” according to the report. The deputy then clarified he was from the Dominican Republic.
After that interaction, the deputy told Quick he could’ve just asked directly what his race or ethnicity was instead of assuming all Hispanic people are Mexican.
The deputy told investigators he was “put off by the remark, but not really offended,” as he thought the question was asked that way out of ignorance.
However, later that night, there was another interaction with Quick that left the deputy “appalled.”
The deputy told investigators Quick told him, “You know, if you were a white boy, your credit score would be in the 800s.”
That comment left the deputy “stunned and did not know what to do or how to reply,” he told investigators. He also said they were not talking about finances or anything that could’ve led to that comment. He also said he did not have a close relationship with Quick.
Another deputy, who was also there during the credit score comment and was interviewed regarding the incident, told investigators he said, “Is this m*****f**** trying to get fired?” when he heard Quick’s comment.
The following night, there was another incident.
The deputy told investigators he and another deputy ran into Quick, who was talking to a “dark-skinned male,” outside a 7-Eleven. According to the deputy, he heard Quick tell the man, who was identified as the owner of the convenience store, that he “could be Shad Khan’s son.”
The deputy said the man “did not laugh at the comment” and appeared to be “taken aback by it.”
When asked if there was anything about the store owner that resembled Shad Khan other than skin tone, the deputy said there were no other similarities.
The sheriff’s office also interviewed the 7-Eleven owner during the investigation to ask him about the incident.
The report states the man said he was not offended by his comment, but was taken aback by it. He also said that it was not the first time he had made comments like that toward him.
In addition to those three incidents, another deputy told investigators that Quick had made comments on at least one occasion about him being German. According to that deputy, Quick said “Give him a minute, he is German,” in front of an officer from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Quick was interviewed regarding all of the allegations made against him.
When asked about the first interaction with the deputy, where he asked about his race, Quick told the investigator he was “embarrassed” by the way he made the question. He also admitted his choice of words while speaking to the deputy was wrong.
However, when asked about the credit score comment, Quick said he could not recall saying that.
“I cannot even fathom, at 3:20 in the morning, after coming out of the woods, why in the heck that would have come out of his mouth,” Quick told the investigator.
Regarding the comment made to the 7-Eleven store owner, Quick said he acknowledged he had placed the man in an “uncomfortable situation,” and added that he is “fascinated by different cultures and has traveled the world.”
Quick was also asked about an incident that was reported in August 2022 that took place in the dispatch center.
According to the report, the dispatcher told the investigator she had recently dyed her hair from blonde to red and when a coworker asked Quick if he liked her new hair, he responded, “No, I prefer blondes. I only date blondes, I only do blondes, and you need to change it back to blonde.”
Quick said he was not “even aware” the dispatcher was in the room and that his intention was not to offend her.
After conducting more than a dozen interviews, the investigation found all allegations against Quick were sustained. According to the report, Quick violated five policies, including the agency’s policy against discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct and retaliation.
As a result, Quick was suspended for a total of 85 hours. According to the report, the sergeant used 42.5 of those hours as part of his paid time off.
Sheriff Bill Leeper announced in a news release on Thursday that Quick, Deputy Henry Holmberg and Sergeant Brian Blackwell surrendered themselves to the Nassau County jail on Thursday on felony and misdemeanor theft charges and felony official misconduct charges.
According to the internal investigation report, Quick had been working for the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office for more than 19 years.
