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Resident tells St. Augustine commission she was denied evidence and urges FDLE probe into SAPD records handling
Summary
During public comment, Janet Sapp accused a St. Augustine Police Department records custodian, Patrice Drinkard, of deleting evidence she paid for and said an internal investigation she requested was closed by the same employee; Sapp asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate.
Janet Sapp told the St. Augustine City Commission during the public‑comment period on March 10 that she has requested an internal investigation into records handling at the St. Augustine Police Department and that she believes the process was compromised.
"On February, I requested an internal investigation be done on Patrice Drinkard, the records holder at the Saint Augustine Police Department concerning evidence that she had stolen and that she had deleted from me," Sapp said. "By Patrice's actions, withholding and deleting this evidence that I paid for has now cost me thousands of extra dollars in attorney fees."
Sapp said the person she asked the department to investigate contacted her and that, in her view, amounted to intimidation. She told commissioners she has not received a written letter the department said it sent, that an internal review was closed by the employee she named, and that she wants the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to investigate "why the chief ... would have the person I requested the internal investigation on contact me." She also said she believes the department's leadership has repeatedly violated its own procedures.
The commission did not take formal action on the complaint during the meeting. The vice mayor thanked Sapp for speaking. No city staff reported accepting the FDLE request on the record at the meeting, and no written city response was made part of the minutes at that time.
Why it matters: Sapp framed her comments as a concern about departmental transparency and procedural fairness; she said the alleged handling of records and the involvement of the chief calls into question whether an independent internal investigation can be completed at SAPD.
Limitations: The transcript identifies the records custodian as Patrice Drinkard and refers to "the chief, Jennifer," but the meeting record did not include a full last name for the chief or a staff‑initiated, on‑the‑record acceptance of Sapp's request for an external investigation. No city finding, internal‑investigation report or FDLE action was presented at the meeting.
Next steps: Sapp requested FDLE involvement; the commission did not vote or direct staff to refer the complaint to FDLE during the meeting.
