An officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has been arrested and charged with felony bribery.
According to JSO Undersheriff Pat Ivey, Officer Brian Pace attempted to get inappropriate pictures in exchange for some items a woman had reported stolen and called on JSO to retrieve. The initial exchange between the victim and Pace began in May.
On September 11, the victim issued a complaint to JSO and made them aware of the alleged misconduct.
On Sunday night, Pace asked to meet with the victim and claimed that he was going to give her the stolen property, which included a cell phone and one other item. He was arrested shortly after arriving at the meetup location.
Ivey said Pace resigned from his position, so he will not have civil service protections.
“There will not be this long process of ‘Why is he still working for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office?’” Ivey said.
Pace was an 11-year veteran at JSO, working as a bailiff and corrections officer before becoming a police officer in 2017. Ivey said his prior record was clean.
In 2020, seven JSO employees have been arrested, and Pace’s arrest is the second in less than a week.
Last week, a JSO civilian employee was arrested and charged with 2 felony counts of disclosing confidential criminal justice information.
According to WJCT News partner The Florida Times-Union, more than 60 JSO employees have been arrested since 2015, when Sheriff Mike Williams took control of the department.
Sky Lebron can be reached at slebron@wjct.org, 904-358-6319 or on Twitter at @SkylerLebron.
