A Groveland police sergeant is off the streets and off the payroll for a few days after an internal probe found he used a marked patrol car like a high-speed commuter ride, hitting extreme speeds and flipping on the blue lights while off duty on his way to work. Investigators say GPS logs and surveillance video lined up almost perfectly with his clock-in times, raising fresh questions inside City Hall about how take-home cruisers are used and how officers are disciplined when they cross the line.
What investigators found
According to a 23-page internal affairs report reviewed by WFTV, Sgt. Alexander Jarrell was clocked by the car's GPS at 120, 112 and 124 mph on three separate trips in May while driving a marked Groveland patrol vehicle. The review started after fellow officers reported seeing the same cruiser rolling with its emergency lights on when there was no active emergency call. That prompted supervisors to pull the vehicle's GPS history and nearby surveillance footage, which investigators say lined up with Jarrell's reported start times for work.
Discipline and response
The city confirmed that Jarrell was suspended without pay following the internal review, which found he activated his emergency lights at times when there was no dispatched emergency, according to ClickOrlando. Station reporting tracks with the department's account that concerns were first raised by other officers who repeatedly saw the marked vehicle with its lights on under circumstances that did not appear to involve an active call.
Chief's defense and next steps
Groveland Police Chief Shawn Ramsey told WFTV that these sorts of actions will not be tolerated in my department, while at the same time defending the decision to use progressive discipline in this case instead of termination. According to the report, Jarrell received a three-day unpaid suspension, lost his take-home patrol vehicle for 30 days and was placed on six months of employment probation rather than being fired. Ramsey said the department will send the full internal affairs file to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement so state officials can decide whether Jarrell's law-enforcement certification should face additional scrutiny.
How Florida law treats extreme speeding
Florida law treats driving 100 mph or more, or at least 50 mph over the posted limit, as potentially criminally dangerous excessive speeding, a standard lawmakers wrote into the state's traffic statutes, according to the Florida Senate. In this case, the department has noted that GPS readings from a patrol car are not the same as speeds documented by radar or lidar, which could complicate any attempt to turn the documented trips into a Super Speeder charge in court.
What to watch next
Because Groveland police have forwarded their investigative report to FDLE, the agency's Criminal Justice Professionalism division - which publicly outlines how officer certification and decertification cases are handled - could decide whether Jarrell's state law-enforcement credentials merit a formal review, according to FDLE guidance. Local officials and residents will be watching to see whether FDLE moves toward additional discipline and whether Groveland tweaks its training or take-home vehicle policies once the state review is complete.
