JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office corrections officer was charged with false imprisonment and domestic battery in an incident involving his girlfriend and has resigned from the agency, Sheriff T.K. Waters announced Thursday.
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Christopher Bowens, 30, was arrested Thursday after officers who were called to his home found that Bowens had grabbed his girlfriend’s arm and blocked her from leaving his home for 30 to 40 minutes during an argument.
According to his arrest report, the argument was sparked when Bowens' girlfriend fell asleep at his home while watching a movie, and he accused her of working too many hours and not spending enough time with him.
False imprisonment is a third-degree felony, and battery is a first-degree misdemeanor.
Waters said the woman was not injured.
“What training do you need to know not to touch somebody or hit someone that you shouldn’t touch? You don’t need any training for that,” Waters said. “You need to uphold the oath that you take when you come to this office. You need to do the things that you’re supposed to do and not violate state law and not violate our policy.”
Bowens is the first employee arrested by JSO in 2025.
Waters acknowledged his frustration when employees either slip through the cracks in the vetting process or exercise bad judgment.
“We all have moments where we get frustrated. We all have moments when you’re angry. You’re supposed to rise above that as a member of this agency, as a member of the law enforcement community,” Waters said. “It’s a waste of our taxpayer dollars to put a person through all this, everything that needs to happen before you can come here and work, and then you ruin it with a bad decision.”
