CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Clay County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant Christopher Coldiron was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol on suspicion of driving under the influence Friday night, a spokesman confirmed to News4JAX.
Coldiron was also arrested in December 2021 by FHP and accused of the same crime, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
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Coldiron is still an employee of the department but that could change.
“With regard to his status, an administrative process needs to take place, and after that process is completed, a determination will be made,” a spokesman wrote in a statement.
Coldiron was a patrol lieutenant with the Sheriff’s Office when he caused a crash in Bradford County in December 2021.
In that incident, FHP said Coldiron was driving a pickup truck on CR-233 in Bradford County when he went through a stop sign and collided with another pickup truck. A passenger riding with Coldiron suffered minor injuries. Coldiron wasn’t hurt, but he was arrested for DUI and booked into the Bradford County jail.
Court documents show Coldiron pled “no contest” in July and a judge convicted him of driving under the influence of alcohol. According to a court filing, Coldiron was sentenced to two days in jail but was given credit for time already served.
Around the same time of the December DUI arrest, Coldiron was also the subject of an internal investigation.
According to documents obtained by News4JAX, Coldiron was involved in a confrontation in Bradford County with family members of his girlfriend over child custody in which law enforcement was called.
The investigation found that Coldiron tried to intimidate the responding deputies and challenged them to call their supervisors and even the sheriff, saying someone was going to jail if the child was removed from the home. After it was settled, Coldiron admitted he was wrong to have interfered. An internal investigation sustained complaints of interfering in the deputies’ duties, trying to influence a civil matter and conduct unbecoming.
As a result of that investigation, Coldiron, who served as a director of corrections, was demoted to lieutenant. The demotion resulted in a 24% pay cut.
According to a 2017 Facebook post, Coldiron previously served as the director for the Personnel and Professional Standards department.