Key legislation that could make it harder for Jacksonville to settle lawsuits was based on a complaint that Sheriff T.K. Waters and his office weren’t consulted before a high-profile $200,000 settlement. But new records show the officer who was sued and the Sheriff’s Office attorney were invited to the mediation meeting where the city agreed to settle.
The mediation statement, which was obtained through a records request by The Florida Times-Union, shows that Officer Josue Garriga was invited to attend a May 30 meeting along with his attorneys, Sean Granat and Gaby Young, both of the city’s Office of General Counsel.
Neither the sheriff nor the Fraternal Order of Police returned The Tributary’s request for comment on Thursday. The Jacksonville City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposed legislation on Tuesday.
Young is the chief legal counsel for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“While JSO is bound by this settlement agreement, I am deeply disappointed by the outcome of this litigation and JSO’s lack of proper notification by our attorneys,” Waters said in November after The Tributary reported the August settlement.
Waters argued that if he had been consulted, he would’ve pushed for the case to go to trial.
According to a timeline released by JSO, a settlement was reached on July 12 without Waters’ knowledge. On July 27, the settlement was drafted and signed. Young then emailed the agreement to Waters and Undersheriff Shawn Coarsey on Aug. 1. The subject line was “FYI” with the document attached. Eleven days later, Waters and Young met.
The Tributary requested copies of notes, recordings and emails related to that meeting, but JSO said there were no records.
Then, on Jan. 10, eight members of the Jacksonville City Council co-sponsored legislation at the sheriff’s request that would require the city to get approval from constitutional officers before settling lawsuits that relate to their offices.
If the legislation passes on Tuesday, the city wouldn’t be able to settle certain lawsuits – like this one – without permission from the sheriff, tax collector, property appraiser, supervisor of elections or the clerk of courts if the lawsuit related to one of their offices.
The family of Jamee Johnson, a 22-year-old Florida A&M University student who was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt in 2019, sued Garriga, former Sheriff Mike Williams and the city in 2021. All parties reached a settlement in August, with Garriga and city attorneys agreeing to the $200,000 settlement.
Johnson’s family initially asked for $5 million.
The city never admitted Garriga did anything wrong. Its lawyers maintain that Garriga acted in good faith, according to the settlement statement. And the State Attorney’s Office cleared Garriga of criminal wrongdoing, saying he “used the least amount of force necessary to prevent Johnson from arming himself.”
Instead, the city said it settled because of the “uncertainty” of a trial. Currently, the city’s Risk Management Division decides whether city attorneys should take certain lawsuits to trial or if it would be more prudent to settle. Then, the director of finance and the city’s top lawyer sign off.
Settling certain lawsuits can protect the officer being sued. When the city settles, it usually also ends claims made against individual employees without needing them to pay anything. If those cases went to trial, the employees may have to pay if a judge or jury finds them at fault.
Lara Mattina, a former prosecutor who is now the organizational strategic executive for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, argued during council committee meetings that the office suffered severe reputational damage due to the settlement.
“While we have learned that Risk Management is excellent at making a determination as to financial risk, they are ill-equipped to make any kind of analysis concerning reputational loss,” she said.
Waters said at the meetings that Garriga felt like he had to settle. The sheriff didn’t elaborate on that statement and didn’t respond to questions about what specific criticisms he has of how the Officer of General Counsel handled the mediation.
Anna Brosche, the city’s finance director, admitted that there was a lapse in communication between the Office of General Counsel and Waters before the city decided to settle with Johnson’s family. She said that lapse of communication — which occurred under a previous general counsel and before Brosche took her role — was a one-time mistake. She didn’t elaborate on the timing of that miscommunication or who was responsible.
General Counsel Michael Fackler suggested the problem be handled internally with a policy change, not codification.
Eight members of the Jacksonville City Council have co-sponsored the bill: Nick Howland, Chris Miller, Raul Arias, Joe Carlucci, Ken Amaro, Will Lahnen, Terrance Freeman, Randy White and Kevin Carrico – all Republicans like Waters.
The bill will go before the full City Council for a vote on Tuesday at its 5 p.m. meeting.
Nichole Manna is The Tributary’s criminal justice reporter. You can reach her at nichole.manna@jaxtrib.org or on Twitter at @NicholeManna.
