JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville community members gathered at city hall before Tuesday’s city council meeting to call for justice in the case of the Duval County inmate, who died three days after an incident at the jail.
The Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC), along with Charles Faggart’s friends and family, organized the protest.
“I’m just looking for justice, that’s all. I’m not looking to start trouble. I’m just looking to end it because this is ridiculous‚" Faggart’s mother, Tracey Karpas, said. “I miss my son.”
Dozens came out with signs and chants.
“What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!”
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Questions remain as to what led to the 31-year-old’s death in April. Nine correctional staff members were removed from their positions.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released a partially redacted report on the incident, but Faggart’s family said that did not paint the full picture of events.
“It’s important to me because my son never deserved anything like this in his life. He was in there for two misdemeanors and now he’s dead,” Karpas said.
Medical records obtained by The Tributary contradicted some of the information released in JSO’s redacted report.
JCAC called for transparency during the investigation and to halt the possibility of a new jail.
“Out of one story, you find many, and there’s smoke, there’s fire. There’s definitely a fire in the Duval County jail that needs to be addressed by folks in elective positions here in Jacksonville,” JcAC member Michael Sampson II said.
Karpas said the hardest part about the situation has been explaining it to Faggart’s 6-year-old.
“Now the only way my grandson gets to see his dad as when we go to the grave, and it just doesn’t make sense in his little mind and it kills me,” Karpas said.
Protestors voiced their concerns during the public comment section of the meeting.
“I simply want the truth on what happened,” someone expressed during public comment.
“Where is their resolution? Actually, where are the solutions?” another person said.
The JCAC will hold another rally outside JSO headquarters on May 25.
