Duval County has a new sheriff in town: T.K. Waters

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County has a new sheriff in town. Sheriff T.K. Waters was officially sworn in Sunday and says he’s ready to tackle Jacksonville’s crime rate on day one.

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“This is my home church for over 20 years,” said Waters.

Waters was sworn in for a four-month term Sunday at Bible Believers Baptist Church. The now Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office sheriff of Duval County says on his first day in office he’s going to focus on zone maps and getting staff settled to combat crime and murder rates in Jax.

“I will focus on making partnerships around our city, informing our patrol force like I should be, building it up stronger to make sure we can put a dent into that. You can’t do it without out that; we need the proper people, the number of people to accomplish that goal,” said Waters.

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He says getting the communities’ help in solving crime is part of that goal. During his inauguration Waters got emotional. He said he was thinking about his son who died four years ago at 18, who once told him, “Dad, you’ll be sheriff one day.”

“There’s a lot of good things that these good folks have helped walk me through and one of them was the loss of my son,” said Waters.

Waters said he looks forward to serving at least four and possibly eight years as sheriff of Jacksonville.

“If the voters will let me, if the citizens will let me, I’m all in,” said Waters.

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Even before being sworn in, Waters filed paperwork to run for sheriff for a full four-year term in the March 2023 Duval County Election. He will take over the rest of former Sheriff Mike Williams’ term, which ran through June 2023.

Williams stepped down after controversy surrounding his move to Nassau County, while still serving as Duval County’s sheriff.

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