Jacksonville Sheriff's Office chief demoted to sergeant, retires

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A division chief of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office under internal investigation after getting into a fight was demoted to sergeant and has retired.

Leonard Propper, who had been with the Sheriff's Office for more than 20 years, was chief of the Special Events Division. Sheriff Mike Williams demoted Propper from chief to sergeant after an incident at the landing in May, Fraternal Order of Police President Steve Zona said.

Zona said it was the right decision by the sheriff, and gave Williams credit for holding his command staff accountable, the same as patrol officers.

The I-TEAM reported earlier this month on an investigation by JSO's Internal Affairs Division and Integrity Unit into a fight between Propper and retired Chief Dave Stevens that took place in May at the Jacksonville Landing.

According to the incident report, several people saw Propper shove Stevens. Propper said he did it because he thought Stevens was going to hit him. The report said Stevens was angry about a comment Propper had made the night before at Capitol Grille.

According to the report, Propper called out to Stevens, saying, "Hey (expletive). You keep screwing with me and when you are out of uniform, I’m going to beat your (expletive)."

Propper then shoved Stevens in the face, cutting his lip. Propper told Internal Affairs he "shoved Stevens because he thought he was going to be assaulted."

These two men were once friends, but they have been going back and forth for several months about a sponsorship deal. 

There was no word on whether that investigation was completed.

Williams appointed Assistant Chief Andre Ayoub to be the new chief of the division.

This was not the first time that Propper has been accused of behaving badly. 

News4Jax obtained dashcam video from a man that Propper confronted in May 2013. Propper was off duty, driving his personal car, but he got out and showed his JSO badge. Their conversation was recorded.

After that incident was investigated, JSO ordered Propper to mandatory counseling.