It's 60 days behind bars for ex-Jacksonville sheriff's officer, football star Chris Barr
In a case the judge said she's never come across before, she advised a now former Jacksonville sheriff's officer with a previously impeccable background that she must punish him for abusing his authority.
Judge Tatiana Salvador sentenced 28-year-old Christopher Barr to 60 days in jail followed by two years of probation and 150 hours of community service after pleading guilty last month to using police computers to provide protected information to "criminals in our community," according to what Sheriff T.K. Waters previously said during an initial news conference. It also means he can never become a law officer again, the judge said.
The charges carried a possible five-year sentence.
“This is a very unique case,” Salvador said. “... I’ve never seen a PSI (presentence investigation report) like this before. You have no prior record. You have not only your high school degree, but your college degree. No drug use, no alcohol use, no gang affiliation. Nothing negative. It was all very positive, especially the character letters as well. I don’t doubt that you have a heart to serve our community. That’s obviously what got you into law enforcement in the first place. So that is on the positive side of my balancing.”
But she said she can't give him some additional benefit for being a police officer.
"That is because you are in a position of extreme power and extreme authority as a member of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office," the judge said. "So you’re level of honesty, integrity and truthfulness has to be absolutely beyond reproach. And even though you have nothing in your background to indicate or give us any idea that something like this was going to happen, you did on at least two occasions provide confidential, restricted information to those who were not entitled to it.”
She said she’s not imposing this sentence to send any kind of message to anyone, but she cannot withhold adjudication of guilty.
"I can’t. Again, you were in a position of power and authority, and it was abused," Salvador told him. "I must adjudicate you guilty of that. You pled guilty to that, and I’m going to adjudicate you guilty of that.”
What was Christopher Barr charged with?
Bar was arrested on Jan. 27 on two counts of an "offense against computer users" and resigned after four years with the department. In announcing the arrest, Waters said there was a "strong possibility" it was related to gang activity.
The protected information came from cellphone data that involved a text thread conversation or group chat, According to Barr's arrest warrant. A "subject" in a separate investigation by another agency sent a message to several others asking about details of a police interaction in Jacksonville. The subject was asking others to obtain information about when a particular individual was contacted by police. One of the messages indicated that he was going to reach out to Barr, the warrant states.
A screenshot from the subject's phone showed Barr in his Sheriff's Office uniform and what appeared to be a patrol vehicle. After the reference to Barr in the group chat, messages were sent with names of other witnesses involved in the separate agency's investigation, according to the warrant. It further states the phone number used in communication between the subject and officer was Barr's personal cellphone number.
Officer arrested: Veteran Jacksonville police detective jailed in felony arrest after an inmate received access to information
An analysis of several Sheriff's Office databases was conducted that confirmed Barr had searched the Agency Records Management System and reviewed a report that contained details of the incident being sought by the subject in the group chat.
Waters wouldn't say who specifically the information was given to other than they were criminals. It was unclear if anything ever came of it other than Barr's arrest.
Chris Barr the football star
Barr also was a former high school and college football standout
A two-time Florida High School Athletic Association football champion at wide receiver and defensive back for Trinity Christian Academy in 2013 and 2014, Barr signed with the University of South Florida in 2015 and appeared in 43 career games with the Bulls. Already a Times-Union Super 24 honoree in his senior year, Barr earned attention with Trinity Christian in the nationally televised Burger King State Champions Bowl in Boca Raton on Dec. 27, 2014, when he scored four touchdowns and gained 240 all-purpose yards during a 35-21 win over Eastside Catholic of Sammamish, Wash.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville cop football star Chris Barr sentenced for sharing intel
