JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney said honesty and integrity are essential after a fifth Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department firefighter was placed on leave after an incident involving paintballs.
Last week, JSO said it had arrested four JFRD firefighters on misdemeanor charges related to the incident, and JFRD confirmed all four had been reassigned to administrative duties.
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“It appears that they made the surface arrest but that wasn’t enough and you know you want to keep looking to see if this is something that’s really systemic within the fire department,” Hackney said.
On Tuesday, JFRD told News4JAX that a fifth firefighter was also placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation in connection with the incident. However, officials said the firefighter was not arrested. Hackney suspects it’s someone in a JFRD supervisory role.
“The higher you are in the food chain, the higher you are as a supervisor level, if you know these things that are happening, you’ve got to step in, you’ve got to do something about it,” Hackney said.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the incident happened on Dec. 29 near Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department Station 4, located at 639 W. Duval St. at West Jefferson Street in the LaVilla area.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 4 JFRD employees arrested, accused of shooting paintballs at JSO cruiser, car, I-95 sign during ongoing ‘prank war’
JSO charged four firefighters with criminal mischief, saying the paintball damage occurred during what investigators described as a firefighter “prank war.”
Police say an officer driving a marked patrol vehicle near North Jefferson and West Duval streets noticed multiple impacts on the car. When the officer stopped to check the damage, several green paint splatters were found on the vehicle.
Around the same time, a civilian driver reported his car had also been struck by paintballs in the same area, according to JSO.
Investigators later determined that paintballs also hit an abandoned building, the roadway and a dumpster.
As previously reported by News4JAX, all four firefighters initially denied responsibility for the incident, even after witnesses told police they saw someone run back into the fire station following the paintball gunfire.
Because of the denials, patrol officers transferred the case to the Jacksonville Integrity Unit for an internal investigation. Detectives spoke with a provisional captain who said he along with several other JFRD personnel, had been playing with a single-shot paintball gun, shooting at signs and items around the station. The captain explained how the gun worked and said “after the paintball gun lost pressure, it no longer worked. It was at this time that several of them began throwing paintballs at each other.”
Noncustodial interviews with city employees were conducted on Jan. 22, ultimately leading to misdemeanor charges against all four firefighters.
In a statement posted to Facebook on Jan. 23, JFRD said all four firefighters have been reassigned to administrative duties pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
The department described the incident as “personnel misconduct while on duty.”
JFRD emphasized that the arrests will not interfere with emergency services. The agency also released a statement on the five employees who were reassigned.
“Five personnel were reassigned to administrative duties on Jan. 22, 2026, until further notice, including one member not taken into custody by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. We are unable to provide any further details at this time as the JFRD internal investigation into this situation is still open,” JFRD said.
One of the victims whose vehicle was struck told News4JAX he supports the arrests, calling the behavior irresponsible and potentially dangerous.
He noted that while the damage was limited, the situation could have escalated.
Hackney said while the incident was only a prank, the honesty of the firefighters involved is of major importance.
“Certainly with any first responder, you have to have that level of honesty,” Hackney said. “You have to level that level integrity...You expect honesty from your employees. They’re paid very well. They have a lot of responsibility and you expect them to live up to that level of being held at that higher level and that didn’t happen here.”
News4JAX submitted a public records request about the incident on Jan. 3, 2026, to JSO, but at the time was told no information existed regarding a paintball incident. WJXT’s public records request was not fulfilled until Jan. 26, three days after the arrest.
JSO acknowledged that its lack of a response was due to a clerical error in its public records department. A spokesperson said the agency is meeting internally to ensure information is properly shared with news organizations when it becomes available as required by Florida law.
News4JAX is working to learn more about the fifth firefighter placed on administrative leave, and will provide updates as they become available.