JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office resigned after he was arrested and accused of making inappropriate advances on someone he pulled over earlier this month.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced the arrest during a news conference on Wednesday.
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The arrest marks the 14th employee of the agency to be arrested in 2024.
Waters said now-former Officer Reginald McKinney, 46, is accused of false imprisonment and battery and has since bonded out and resigned from JSO.
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Waters said that on Sept. 4, McKinney was driving his marked patrol vehicle in the Edgewood neighborhood and conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle due to the driver having a suspended driver’s license.
During that encounter, according to his arrest report, McKinney began remarking on the appearance of the driver, said she was “fine as hell” and asked for her phone number. He then told her that he could take her to jail but he was not going to and then asked her to step out of her vehicle, according to the arrest report.
After concluding the traffic stop, Waters said the officer directed the driver to follow him in her vehicle to a nearby location, which she did.
Once there, Waters said the officer continued his personal advances toward the driver and made inappropriate physical contact. He also sent the woman two text messages, which she showed JSO.
Waters said the driver of the vehicle came forward days after the traffic stop and reported the incident to JSO’s Internal Affairs Unit.
There was no record of the interaction because the officer turned on his body-worn camera, a major violation of JSO policy, Waters said.
McKinney had been employed by JSO for more than 2 years. McKinney previously worked as a deputy for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office for more than four years.
“When a member of this agency violates the law — and I’ve said it time and time again, I’m going to say it again, I hope our officers are listening, I hope the public listens — we are not going to tolerate it. We’re going to treat them like they should be treated,” Waters said. “They’re held to a standard. They’re held to a higher standard than our public, and we’re going to arrest them, and we’re going to prosecute them, especially in a case like this.”
The woman said she gave McKinney her number and complied with following him because she felt threatened by the fact that McKinney said he turned off his body camera and they were in an isolated area at night.
“I’m very aggravated by the fact that he did this because, one, it undermines the trust with the public that they have in JSO,” Waters said. “The second thing is this, if you’re getting stopped, it’s dark, you feel uncomfortable, slow down, acknowledge that you’re being stopped. Let the officer know you can put a thumbs up. It doesn’t matter. Slow down, acknowledge and then go to some place where you feel comfortable. If a police officer asks you to go to another location, if it’s not official like you’re getting arrested, ask to speak to a supervisor. Do that so that we can make sure in a situation like this, this doesn’t happen.”