Inset: John Burgos (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office). Background: Burgos standing in court (WJXT).
A Florida patrol officer faces criminal charges after he allegedly returned to the location of a domestic violence call, removed his body camera and touched the victim under the guise he was doing a follow-up investigation, authorities said.
John Burgos, a 35-year-old officer for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) for over six years, faces charges of battery and false imprisonment, Brian Kee, the agency’s director of personnel and professional standards, said in a Thursday press conference.
“JSO is appalled by Burgos’ conduct and by the fact that he committed these crimes while representing himself as a public servant,” Kee said. “With this arrest, JSO sends a clear message that we will not tolerate when a member of this agency violates the law and threatens the public trust in law enforcement.”
The allegations stem from a domestic violence call involving a couple on Wednesday, the arrest report said. Burgos conducted the investigation and wound up arresting the 21-year-old victim’s boyfriend, the report said. After he finished the arrest process at the jail, Burgos returned to the victim’s home to give her information on a safe place to reside, court documents said.
But he removed his camera before contacting her, according to court records.
He allegedly told her, “You’re a beautiful girl,” and gave her a fist bump, she later told investigators, the arrest report said.
The arrest report said Burgos offered to buy items for her baby, which she declined. He then asked her if they could talk upstairs, saying he did not want the neighbors to hear their conversation, according to the arrest report.
The officer also told the victim he was questioning his decision to only arrest her boyfriend, the document said.
While alone with the victim and under the color of authority, Burgos did not allow her to leave, and he touched the victim without valid consent, Kee said.
“He was acting like he was doing a follow-up to the initial investigation,” Kee said. “He was reporting that he needed information from her, wanted to see some injuries, that type of thing. So it’s completely not part of what he was supposed to be doing.”
At one point, the victim realized the suspect was not wearing a body camera, so she tried to covertly activate her cellphone video but stopped after Burgos noticed and asked her, “Are you recording me right now?” She ultimately did activate her cellphone at some point, catching several minutes of their interaction anyway, the arrest report said.
The victim also reported she noticed the officer’s cellphone camera was outside his shirt pocket and pointed in her direction. He also continually checked his phone, leading her to believe he was taking pictures or videos of her unclothed, she reported to investigators.
After Burgos left the location, the victim called 911 and reported the officer’s conduct immediately, Kee said.
An internal investigation was launched and Burgos was arrested. In an interview with investigators, he admitted to returning to the victim’s home without his camera on his uniform, according to the arrest report. He also allegedly asked the victim not to say anything about the encounter because he would lose his job, the arrest report said, claiming to investigators he was worried about the body camera violation.
Burgos is on home detention on electronic monitoring and has been ordered not to have contact with the victim. He’s set to appear in court on Nov. 21, online court records show. He was suspended without pay, stripped of his law enforcement authority and will be terminated, Kee said.
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