JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday announced the arrest of a police officer accused of grand theft and a corrections officer accused of battery.
Undersheriff Shawn Coarsey said on Dec. 30, former corrections officer Taaron Clayton was arrested on one count of battery, a first-degree misdemeanor.
JSO said it received a complaint that Clayton “exposed his genitals to a victim and grabbed her hips.”
An arrest report stated the alleged victim was a coworker.
Coarsey said he was arrested and he was immediately fired.
Clayton was employed for nine months. Coarsey said Clayton was still within his probationary period of unemployment and did not have civil service protection.
On Jan. 6, Coarsey said former police officer Nicholas Hicks was arrested on grand theft and official misconduct charges, both third-degree felonies.
JSO said it received a tip that Hicks was being paid to also work at a hospital, but he failed to work over 40 assigned shifts from June 12, 2025, to Dec. 30, 2025.
His absences totaled more than 52 hours and he was paid over $2,600 for time he actually didn’t work, Coarsey said.
He was arrested and he immediately resigned.
Clayton’s arrest is the seventh arrest of a JSO employee in 2025 and Hicks’ arrest is the first in 2026.