JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville Sheriff's Officer was charged with a third-degree felony after special investigators said he illegally used a secure JSO database to search "for information on individuals that he had no reason to investigate," Undersheriff Nick Burgos said.
Officer Robert Parrish, 34, was arrested Thursday and charged with “offense against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices,” Burgos said during a news conference Thursday. The crime is a third degree felony under Florida state statute, he said.
The Sheriff’s Office will be moving to terminate his employment, Burgos said.
Parrish was taken into custody after an investigation by JSO's Integrity and Special investigation unit. He served Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for about eight-and-a-half years partly as a bailiff, and roughly five years as a police officer.
According to an arrest warrant, on May 4 a citizen made a complaint in reference to being harassed and possibly stalked by JSO Officer Robert Parrish. Due to the allegations being criminal, the case was forwarded to the Integrity Unit.
It was discovered that the citizen and Officer Parrish had a female companion in common, the warrant states. Police say the woman has dated both of them on different occasions throughout the past several years.
The complainant claimed that Officer Parrish would periodically show up at different locations around Jacksonville and confront him. Some of the interactions would involve Officer Parrish ticketing and/or arresting him, he claims.
He told police he did not know how Officer Parrish would know his location.
A TAR report suggests Officer Parrish queried the man 24 times since 2017. Of those 24 times, 12 of those times were on dates that Officer Parrish was listed as off duty, per JSO timesheets.
The warrant states that Parrish ran his name over 60 times since 2017, in a separate JSO database (Master Name Index) which is also restricted and only to be accessed for work purposes.
Parrish declined an opportunity to explain his actions
This marks the fifth JSO employee arrested in 2022. Three police officers and two corrections officers.
Burgos said the databases Parrish accessed are secure and that when officers use these databases inappropriately, JSO takes actions like the arrest Thursday.
Burgos would not comment on what or who Parrish was searching in the database.