JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has launched an internal investigation into a brawl between a retired Jacksonville sheriff's officer and a high-ranking police chief, the News4Jax I-TEAM has learned.
Multiple sources told the I-TEAM that JSO Assistant Chief Leonard Propper and retired Assistant Chief David Stevens got into an argument that turned into a physical confrontation at a charity event over the weekend.
According to witnesses, Propper was upset at Stevens over where fundraising money from another event was slated to go. While in uniform at Saturday's charity event, witnesses said, Propper punched Stevens, who is a member of the board of trustees of the Statewide Fraternal Order of Police.
Stevens, who was wearing a Superman shirt at the time of the event, had just finished running in the Brady's Superhero 5K run at the Landing.
This is the third time Propper has come under scrutiny by Internal Affairs. The second time was the result of a physical altercation he had with a fan at an Eagles concert at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. The first incident also happened while Propper was off-duty. He was videotaped cutting off a motorist. When both men stopped at a traffic light, Propper got out and screamed at the motorist, who had a dashcam recording the confrontation. Propper was cleared of wrongdoing in the second incident. He was given counseling after the first.
A police report was not completed of the latest incident, which is being handled by Internal Affairs.