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JSO Officer involved in fatal shooting previously accused of harassment

A month before a Jacksonville Sheriff's Officer shot and killed a man on the Northside, he was under investigation for alleged harassment.

A month before a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer shot and killed a mentally ill man on the Northside, he was under investigation for alleged harassment.

According to documents obtained by First Coast News, the June 7, 2018 complaint was made against JSO Officer Richard Futch Jr. for using a state database for personal reasons and sending harassing emails to his wife’s ex-husband.

That complaint was made by Frank Byrne, Futch’s wife’s ex-husband.

As part of the investigation, Futch received formal counseling as part of the JSO internal affairs investigation, according to the report.

Formal Counseling, according to JSO's standard, is not considered discipline.

The majority of the report, 82 of the 88 pages, were redacted by JSO because according to the department, the records do not meet the definition of a “public record.”

In the complaint, Byrne wrote that Futch sent what he perceived to be harassing and threatening emails to his place of work for nearly two years and that was stressful for Byrne and his current wife. A lawsuit is also pending, the report says, but Byrne says he just wants to move on now.

"If he’s a respectable Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer, he shouldn’t have done that," said Byrne. "I'm shocked, he was disciplined 18 previous times, how many times does it take you know?"

According to his internal affairs file with JSO, Futch has 24 incidents listed with the department since he joined in 1995. Six of those listed incidents are reported as 'unfounded', including previous complaints over harassment and violation of law.

Futch was involved in an officer-involved shooting on July 7, 2018, when he shot and killed 52-year-old Harold Krai. Krai suffered from Schizophrenia and was sitting on his porch and holding a kitchen knife when he was shot and killed by Futch.

In a letter dated July 2nd, 2018, a JSO sergeant wrote to internal affairs, “I also told him to contact the Sheriff’s Office if Officer Futch contacted or emailed him after this investigation.”

This story will continue to be updated.

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