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JSO corrections officer arrested on domestic battery charges, fired from job

Corrections Officer Noel Summerville, a one-and-a-half-year veteran of JSO, was arrested after officers responded to a domestic violence call around 5 or 6 a.m.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office corrections officer is out of a job and facing charges after police were called to investigate a domestic battery case early Tuesday morning.

According to Undersheriff Pat Ivey, Corrections Officer Noel Summerville, a one-and-a-half-year veteran of JSO, was arrested after officers responded to a domestic violence call around 5 or 6 a.m. When the officers realized Summerville was a JSO employee, they called the JSO Integrity and Special Investigation Unit.

Detectives responded and determined there was probable cause to arrest him, Ivey said. The incident stemmed from an argument which resulted in some minor physical injuries, he said.

Summerville was arrested and charged with one count of misdemeanor battery domestic violence, Ivey said. The victim was reportedly a family member.

The State Attorney's Office was notified about the case, Ivey said, and Summerville was fired.

That's because Summerville was on probation as a corrections officer, Ivey said, which means he did not fall under certain civil service protections providing for employees the right to appeal termination of employment if they are arrested on criminal charges.

"I get questions when I'm in the community, 'Hey, I saw you arrested this employee and you said that they are going to potentially be terminated at the appropriate time,'" Ivey explained. "Because there are civil service rules, which are not our rules, they are civil service rules we are required to follow, which gives the employees the right to appeal, not the arrest, but the termination."

Summerville's arrest marks the fourth time a JSO employee has been arrested in 2021. Three were police officers, and Summerville is the first corrections officer to be arrested this year.

There were 11 JSO employees arrested in all of 2020.

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