The chants started outside Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office headquarters downtown, carrying down the sidewalk as people gathered with handmade signs and photos of Charles Faggart.
There were hugs. Speeches. And moments of silence.
Faggart was 31. On April 7, 2025, he was taken from the Duval County Jail to the hospital following an incident inside the jail. He died three days later.
His mother, Tracey Karpas, said the anniversary doesn’t feel real.
“Absolutely not. Feels like yesterday and still nowhere,” Karpas told News4JAX.
Organizers said the rally was meant to do two things: honor Faggart’s memory and press for transparency about what happened while he was in JSO custody.
Monica Gold, an organizer with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee, said the family’s questions have lingered far too long.
“Yeah, it’s crazy, and the crazy part is that really the family doesn’t have any more information right now than they did a year ago,” Gold said.
Quick Timeline
- April 10, 2025: Faggart dies at the hospital
READ:Full lawsuit filed by Charles Faggart’s family
“I cannot believe that we have to sue the city to get evidence that should have been given to my attorneys months ago,” she said. “First, it was JSO has to finish their investigation. Then it was the state attorney has to finish theirs, and once the state attorney kicked it to the FBI, we should have got that video. Still nothing to this day.”
On the one-year mark, the family’s attorney filed a lawsuit against Sheriff T.K. Waters in his official capacity and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The complaint seeks the release of public records tied to Faggart’s death, including jail surveillance video and unredacted reports.
In a written statement, attorney Belkis Plata said the family has had “no answers.”
“Within days of his passing, formal public records requests were made seeking information surrounding his death. Those requests have been met with silence. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, led by Sheriff T.K. Waters, has blatantly violated Florida’s public records laws, denying the transparency and accountability the law requires and the public is entitled to.” Plata said in a statement.
News4JAX requested updates from both the FBI and JSO.
An FBI spokesperson told News4JAX, “I don’t have anything further at this time.”
JSO said its internal investigation cannot start until criminal investigations have concluded and that the corrections officers and sergeant involved have been administratively reassigned.
Karpas said the support to keep pushing for answers matters — but the goal hasn’t changed.
“That means everything to me that people are still following it and showing up,” she said.
And she said she is not backing away from the fight for answers.
“I will go to my grave fighting. I will.”