Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announces the arrest of police officer Christopher Barr during a news conference Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2024 l Jacksonville Sheriff's Office
Published on February 7, 2024 at 4:57 pm
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has arrested one of its own officers, a four-year veteran accused of accessing protected police databases and giving the information to criminals.
Sheriff T.K. Waters said Wednesday that Christopher Barr, 28, was arrested Jan. 27 on two counts of offenses against computer users.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Barr is accused of sharing information from the databases with people Waters described as criminals. It’s a strong possibility he gave the information to people with gang ties, Waters said.
Whether the information led to other crimes is unknown, Waters said. If it did, Barr could face additional charges, he said.
“When a JSO employee has been arrested, no one is above the law and we’re not going to tolerate the violations of law by our agency,” Waters said.
Jacksonville Today thanks our sponsors. Become one.
Barr came under suspicion after federal investigators came across cellphone data of a suspect in a separate case, according to an arrest affidavit. Text messages showed that subjects in their case had reached out to Barr, documents show.
Investigators later determined Barr had accessed police systems as far back as November 2022, when someone sent him a text message asking him to check a tag number. Then in September 2023, he is accused of checking a different system where he reviewed a report and shared witnesses’ names.
The two counts of offenses against computer users are third-degree felonies. Jail records show Barr was released from jail Jan. 27, the same day he was arrested.
Barr resigned from the Sheriff’s Office after his arrest. He is the second Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office employee arrested in 2024. A corrections officer was charged in January with a misdemeanor count of domestic battery after a fight with a family member.
