The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) is a joint city-county law enforcement agency which has primary responsibility for law enforcement, investigation, and corrections within the consolidated City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida, United States.
While the landmass of the City of Jacksonville makes up the vast majority of the geographical area of Duval County, the county also contains the smaller incorporated cities of Atlantic Beach, Baldwin, Jacksonville Beach, and Neptune Beach. The beach cities, as well as the University of North Florida and Jacksonville International Airport, also operate their own police departments. In these jurisdictions, primary law enforcement services are typically provided by the local police department, except for enforcement of civil court processes (for example, property evictions) which by Florida statute are the responsibility of the county sheriff's office.
History Jacksonville Police Department: 1822–1968
The first sheriff to be appointed in Jacksonville was James Dell in 1822 when Duval County was incorporated.
A town ordinance in 1845 required all free males living in Jacksonville to participate in evening patrol duty.
From 1865 to 1869 law enforcement was enforced by the continued occupation of the Union Army and a provost marshal and guard.
A civilian marshal was appointed as head of the department in 1871, along with the creation of the captain of police rank. The mayor appointed the captain, who would then be confirmed by the city council. In 1887 the captain of police rank became known as chief of police. A new charter was also established in 1887, creating a board of police commissioners. The department was composed mostly of African Americans.
House Bill No. 4 was passed by the Florida State Legislature allowing the governor to abolish all offices in Jacksonville and to make new appointments to fill the vacancies.
The police force in 1889 consisted of a chief, three officers and 24 patrolmen.
The first patrol wagon, pulled by two horses, was used in 1895.
In 1904, as the automobile became more popular, the speed limit was set at 6 miles per hour. The first automobile patrol car was established in 1911.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office: 1968–present In 1967 a mandate was given by residents of Jacksonville and Duval County with 65 percent of the votes cast in favor of consolidating the city (Jacksonville Police Department) and county governments (Duval County Sheriff's Office). On October 1, 1968, the two governmental bodies were replaced with "a single unified government". The new organization, the Office of the Sheriff – Jacksonville Police, paralleled the name of the new jurisdiction. The four other municipalities within Duval County (Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Baldwin) retained their own police departments. However, the Baldwin city council voted to disband their police department by 2007; at midnight on March 13, 2006, the sheriff's office took over responsibility of police services.Baldwin PD disbands
Starting in the late 1980s, the agency adopted the Glock 17 9×19mm pistol as their sidearm. The agency still issues Glock 17s as the sidearm.
On June 2, 2022, Mike Williams announced his retirement a year prior to the end of his second term. He moved his residence to nearby Nassau County in 2021 despite a Jacksonville Charter rule that requires elected officials to live in Duval County. Williams considered filing suit to challenge the law, but decided against it. Public criticism that the leader of law enforcement was violating the rules forced Williams to make a choice. He stated that his last day would be June 10. Undersheriff Pat Ivey was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to replace Williams, and was sworn in on June 11, 2022. A special election was held August 23. No candidate received 50% of the vote, so a runoff was held on November 8, 2022. T.K. Waters (R) beat Lakesha Burton (D) 55%-45% on the November 8th election. Waters was sworn in on Sunday, November 20, 2022, in front of his church congregation. Waters was unopposed in the spring 2023 municipal election.
2025 viral traffic stop arrest
In July 2025, a video of a traffic stop conducted by JSO officers on February 19 went viral. The video, shot by the driver of the vehicle, 22-year-old William McNeil Jr., shows McNeil Jr. arguing with the officers after they claimed he was required to have his headlights on even when it was not raining, and after McNeil Jr. asks for the officers' supervisor, an officer on the driver-side of the vehicle smashes the window and punches McNeil Jr. in the face. The officers then forcefully remove McNeil Jr. from the vehicle and video shows McNeil Jr. being punched at least one more time.
Florida Senator Shevrin Jones released a statement calling the incident "deeply disturbing and completely unacceptable", while Florida Representative Angie Nixon said that she reached out to the Sheriff's Office about the incident, deaths in jail, and other instances of potential JSO misconduct. McNeil Jr. hired prominent civil rights lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels to represent him in the case. Crump released a statement saying, "It should be obvious to anyone watching this video that William McNeil wasn’t a threat to anyone," and that McNeil Jr. was, "...exercising his constitutional rights," before being attacked. On July 29, McNeil Jr.'s lawyers alleged that bodycam footage showed a JSO officer standing in front of McNeil Jr.'s vehicle and holding him at gunpoint before he was dragged from the vehicle, and that, after he was handcuffed, the officers repeatedly slammed his head against the pavement. McNeil Jr. also said that the incident traumatized him and that he suffered a brain injury.
The JSO released a statement saying that they were conducting an internal investigation into the incident and that they "hold [their] officers to the highest standards and are committed to thoroughly determining exactly what occurred". A police report released by the JSO claimed that McNeil Jr. reached for a "large knife" on his floorboard, a claim which McNeil Jr.'s lawyers denied, and that three and a half grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were removed from the vehicle after McNeil Jr.'s arrest, but made no mention of McNeil Jr. being punched. On July 22, Sheriff T. K. Waters responded to the incident, saying that the footage did not "comprehensively capture the circumstances surrounding the incident" as McNeil Jr. had allegedly locked himself inside the vehicle and refused to cooperate and that the State Attorney's Office reviewed the incident and determined that the officers did not break any laws. Waters also added that in addition to the marijuana and drug paraphernalia, McNeil Jr. was charged with resisting an officer, driving on a suspended license, and not wearing a seatbelt. The arresting officer also consented to his body-worn camera footage being made public and he was stripped of his badge pending the outcome of the investigation.
Elected sheriffs 1903–1904 John Price 1913–1915 W. H. "Ham" Dowling 1924–1928 W. B. Cahoon 1932–1957 Rex Sweat 1957–1958 William Alpheus "Al" Cahill 1958–1986 Dale Carson 1986–1996 Jim McMillan 1996–2004 Nat Glover 2004–2015 John Rutherford 2015–2022 Mike Williams June–November 2022 Pat Ivey November 2022 – present T. K. Waters
Headquarters Prior to the Police/Sheriff merger in 1968, Jacksonville Police Headquarters was located at 711 Liberty Street. It was opened in September 1926.
East Bay Street On February 18, 1974 ground was broken for the Police Administration Building at 501 East Bay Street. It was later renamed Police Memorial Building (PMB). The adjacent jail was constructed in 1990. In 2024 JSO stated that the fifty-year old building was inadequate for the agency's needs. The PMB provided just 215 parking spaces for 739 employees, requiring lease of a grass lot across the street. Total PMB office space was which forced 184 JSO employees to work in off-site office space. In 2025 JSO was facing a $6 million bill for work on the PMB including replacing flooring, air handling units and work on the helicopter landing pad on the rooftop. The fueling station was the only police function destined to remain at East Bay Street.
Florida Blue Building The Florida Blue Building (FBB) is actually multiple structures located on eight acres on Riverside Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood. The complex includes a 10-story building constructed in 1950 with the adjacent 22-story tower added in 1971. A 4-story parking garage was built in 1973.
JSO reviewed more than 25 properties before picking Florida Blue for a new headquarters. In addition to room for growth, the location offered emergency backup power; maintenance provided by the building's owner would result in significant savings for the city. In early 2023, JSO and the city began discussions regarding a department move from the PMB to a Brooklyn location.
The City Council approved a multi-year lease in September 2023 for space in the Florida Blue Building for their JSO Homeland Security Department and select crime labs. The initial 12.5-year lease included two 5-year extensions. A building permit was issued by the city in May 2024 for the initial build-out.
In January 2025 the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee agreed to send legislation to city council for an amended and restated lease that would include , nearly 60% of the tower. The lease would also include 1700 parking spaces. Owner Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc. agreed to provide $27 million for tenant build out. Office furniture would also be transferred from the owner's Deerwood campus offices. The term of the new lease agreement exceeds 26 years.
Organization
The JSO is headed by the sheriff, a Florida constitutional officer elected to a four-year term. By virtue of Jacksonville's consolidated city-county status, the sheriff combines the functions of police chief of Jacksonville and sheriff of Duval County. He is one of the few popularly elected police chiefs in the country.
The sheriff appoints his own senior staff, from undersheriff to commanders. All sworn members of the JSO are sworn in by the sheriff and are considered under the Florida constitution as his/her deputies. All sworn members of the JSO are law enforcement officers (LEO) or correctional officers with all powers allowed by state law to carry firearms and make arrest. JSO also employs community service officers, who are unsworn personnel that respond to primarily traffic-related incidents not requiring the full police powers of a sworn officer.
The Sheriff's Office is divided into five departments, each sub-divided into divisions, sections, units, and squads. Each department is commanded by a director with the rank of director of a department. Each division is commanded by a division chief; each section is headed by a Commander (formerly Assistant Chief). The departments are organized as follows:
Department of Patrol & Enforcement There are three divisions in this department, and it is headed by the Director of Patrol and Enforcement.
Patrol Division This division is commanded by the Chief of Patrol who oversees the six patrol zones, each headed by a District Commander.
District 1: Downtown, Springfield, Eastside, San Marco, Riverside District 2: Arlington, Intercoastal West District 3: Southside, Mandarin, E-Town District 4: Avondale, Ortega, Westside, Argyle District 5: Northwest, New Town, Baldwin District 6: Northside, San Mateo, Oceanway
Patrol Support Division This division is commanded by the Chief of Patrol Support.
Community Engagement Section – Commander Crime Prevention, International Affairs, Sheriff's Watch, Blight Abatement, Tele-Serv, Police Athletic League Specialized Patrol Section – Commander