CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — A Clay County woman is suing Sheriff Michelle Cook after a former Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputy crashed his assigned vehicle while driving drunk, a lawsuit that now raises questions about supervision and oversight inside the agency.
The lawsuit stems from a crash involving former deputy Austin Wiser, who was driving a sheriff’s office vehicle while on duty. Court records show Wiser’s blood alcohol content was 0.180, more than twice Florida’s legal limit.
The lawsuit alleges Cheryl Gragg-Wilson suffered injuries in the crash, including head trauma, a concussion, a neck sprain, and a lower back sprain.
Photos attached to court filings also show two firearms lying openly on the passenger seat inside Wiser’s vehicle at the time of the crash.
The lawsuit relies heavily on the sworn testimony Wiser gave during a deposition. Under oath, Wiser admitted he drank alcohol while on duty and described himself as “an active alcoholic.” He testified that he often began drinking before heading home from work and said he stored alcohol in the bed of his assigned truck almost daily. He also testified that the drinking continued for about a year and a half.
Wiser further testified that vehicle inspections were rare and that he could not really remember one. He also testified that it had been years since he had been subjected to random drug or alcohol testing.
Those statements became a focus of the plaintiff’s case.
During separate depositions, Wiser’s supervisors gave differing testimony about vehicle inspections. Lt. James Rood testified that inspections were supposed to happen quarterly and that supervisors were expected to physically inspect assigned vehicles. Sgt. Steven Parker, meanwhile, testified that inspections of undercover vehicles like Wiser’s were “not common practice” and said he could not recall the specific policy governing those inspections.
The lawsuit argues that if CCSO had followed its own policies and procedures, supervisors would have discovered that Wiser was allegedly storing alcohol in his assigned vehicle and drinking while on duty. Because of those allegations, the victim named Sheriff Michelle Cook in her official capacity as sheriff and accused the agency of negligence.
The supervisors were also questioned about whether a deputy being able to store alcohol in a sheriff’s office vehicle for years without being caught would indicate a failure in supervision.
Rood testified that such a scenario would indicate a “breakdown in supervision.” Parker went even further, saying, “That would be bad supervision.”
Chris Carson, a defense attorney who is not involved in the case, provided an outside legal perspective.
“Really, when it comes down to it I think the question is were they aware, meaning the chain of command, the higher ups, or should they have been aware, something they could have detected had they just done some due diligence?” Carson said. “And if the answer to that question is yes, then there is definitely going to be concerns regarding their own liability.”
Carson said it is too early to determine whether the allegations point to a broader problem within the sheriff’s office or an isolated incident involving one deputy.
“It is something that will probably be looked into by the parties to the lawsuit to see if this is part of a larger pattern of negligence, lack of oversight, and all that, whether this is a systematic problem or whether this is something where it’s just kind of an isolated instance,” Carson said.
He added, “I think it’s hard to draw ultimate conclusions from that, but I think that the fact that this may turn into a legal issue is something that then could warrant further exploration.”
When we reached out to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office with questions about the lawsuit, a spokesperson said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. We also asked whether any supervisors involved in the case were disciplined for a lack of oversight. The sheriff’s office did not answer that question.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
