Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office sergeant Michael Russell is facing a felony charge after his behavior during a children’s soccer game. An incident out of Jacksonville, Florida saw the homicide sergeant arrested Tuesday on a felony charge of battery of a sports official. Russell was at a youth soccer game Sunday at Losco Regional Park in the Jacksonville neighborhood of Mandarin.
He was off-duty and in plain clothes at the time. A fight would break out between players and as officials moved in to break it up, Russell then “went onto the field and punched one of the refs in the face, knocking the whistle out of his mouth.”
“We never relish arresting an employee of this agency. However, our collective belief in transparency, openness and accountability outweighs any personal allegiance,” Waters said. “We are a society of laws, and no one is above those laws.”
…“It’s really confusing to me,” Waters said when asked why Russell might have punched the referee. “It’s disappointing.”
Russell’s actions were captured on video, but it hasn’t been released as of yet.
Russell, who worked in homicide, will remain employed with JSO for the duration of the criminal investigation. He’ll undergo an administrative review once the criminal case is over. The sergeant is a 14-year veteran of JSO. Russell became a sergeant in 2019.
