Jacksonville demands justice for Charles Faggart and all victims of police brutality

Jacksonville, FL – 250-plus people gathered on the steps of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) Memorial Building on Sunday, April 13, demanding justice for Charles Faggart and all other victims of police brutality.

Charles Faggart was a 31-year-old Jacksonville resident. He owned and operated the Chop it Up Charlie’s food truck. Faggart died from “catastrophic injuries” while in the Duval County Jail.

On April 1, Faggart was arrested and processed in the Duval County Jail on misdemeanor charges. His bond was set at $8500. On April 7, Faggart was transported from the jail to UF Health hospital with critical injuries. Then, on April 8, Faggart’s bond was reduced, and Sheriff T.K. Waters called a news briefing about an inmate being injured. Waters expressed that nine corrections officers were stripped of their duties pending a criminal and administrative investigation.

On April 10, Faggart was pronounced brain dead. During these developments, JSO made minimal efforts to keep Faggart’s family informed. Faggart’s family has still not been given insight into how Charles sustained the injuries that led to his death. Sheriff T.K. Waters has formally requested that the FBI join the investigation, which marks the first time Waters has made this request in his tenure as the Jacksonville Sheriff. Since announcing this, Waters has also expressed that he will not offer details pertaining to this case, as it is an “open investigation.”

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) organized the rally in response to this police brutality and lack of JSO transparency. Many organizations and community members joined the JCAC to demand justice for Faggart. Faggart’s family and friends were the largest group in attendance.

His mother, Tracey Karpas, tearfully addressed the crowd saying, “I am so thankful for the 31 years I got with him, but I should have gotten at least 31 more, and I’m sorry I can’t speak anymore.” Faggart’s 6-year-old son was also in attendance, wearing a shirt to honor his father’s memory. Those in attendance demanded that Sheriff T.K. Waters and JSO release the names of the corrections officers involved in the killing of Charles Faggart, as well as the footage accounting for this incident.

Sam Hunter with the JCAC spoke to the crowd, emphasizing that JSO does not get to be “judge, jury, and executioner.” Hunter connected the demands for Faggart’s justice with the community’s disapproval for a $1 billion new jail. He explained that the same systemic issues within the current jail will persist in a new jail. Community members have been consistently mobilizing to city council meetings to demand an overhaul of the current jail systems, rather than the development of a new jail that demonstrates the same internal problems of the current overcrowded jail.

The rally progressed into a march around the perimeter of the jail. People shouted, “Justice for Charles” and “No justice! No peace!” People also shouted chants honoring other victims of JSO’s brutality, including Harold Kraai, Jamee Johnson, Kwame Jones, Justin Knight, Leah Baker, Dejuane Hayden, Reginald Boston, Devon Gregory and D’Angelo Stallworth. The chants were loud enough for the inmates inside to hear.

ON Monday, April 14, after the previous day’s rally, the names of the corrections officers were released. Of the nine officers, four have prior complaints. The nine corrections officers are as follows:

Sgt. W.H. Cox #76320

Ofc. T.C. Pennamon #88613

Ofc. G.L. Mckinnis #86574

Ofc. D.D. Thomas #82590

Ofc. M.E. Sullivan #84331

Ofc. P.L. Collins #88641

Ofc. A.K. Maygoo #88643

Ofc. E. Kurtovic #84333

Ofc. J.J. Bullard #88012

Sergeant William Cox and officers Eldar Kurtovic, Gecolbe Mckinnis and Matthew Sullivan all have past complaints, ranging from an inability to conform to work standards to apparent “incompetence.” All officers have been required to do formal counseling due to these complaints.

Also released on Monday, April 14 was a heavily redacted JSO report chronicling the incident that led to Faggart’s death. Each part of the report pertaining to the actions of the officers was redacted. Faggart’s family learned about this report in tandem with the public. They received no prior notification.

The Faggart family has called for prosecutions of all the cops involved, along with the release of all video footage.

The JCAC has pledged to keep up the fight.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #InJusticeSystem #PoliceBrutality #JusticeFor #JCAC #Featured

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/jacksonville-demands-justice-for-charles-faggart-and-all-victims-of-police?pk_campaign=rss-feed