Thomas Kevin Waters (born December 8, 1970) is an American law enforcement officer and politician serving as the 7th

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

since 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he is one of five

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

sheriffs currently serving in the state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, as of 2025. In February 2025 Waters was appointed to the new ''State Immigration Enforcement Council''.

Life and education

Waters was born at the

William Beaumont Army Medical Center William Beaumont Army Medical Center is a Department of Defense medical facility located in Fort Bliss, Texas. It provides comprehensive care to all beneficiaries including active duty military, their family members, and retirees. The hospital ...

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...

in El Paso, Texas. His father served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as a Command Sergeant Major, so he grew up as a

Military brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...

with his family stationed at several bases. After graduating from the Würzburg American High School in Germany, he earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

. He majored in

Interdisciplinary Studies Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

;

Homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

was his minor. Due to his father's service, Waters planned to join the

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

but changed his mind when a cousin was killed in 1990 during a robbery in the Ramona neighborhood of Jacksonville.

Law enforcement career

Waters joined the

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) is a joint city-county law enforcement which has primary responsibility for law enforcement, investigation, and corrections within the consolidated City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida, United S ...

in 1991 as a

corrections officer A prison officer (PO) or corrections officer (CO), also known as a correctional law enforcement officer or less formally as a prison guard, is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation ...

. He graduated from the

Police academy A police academy, also known as a law enforcement training center, police college, or police university, is a training school for police cadets, designed to prepare them for the law enforcement agency they will be joining upon graduation, or to o ...

in 1993 and became a patrol officer.
1991 - 1993 Corrections officer
1993 - 1996 Patrol officer
1996 – 1998 Narcotics Officer/Detective
1998 – 2001 Patrol, Task Force, Traffic Officer
2001 - 2002 Sergeant Patrol
2002 - 2005 Sergeant Traffic Enforcement
2005 - 2015 Sergeant Homicide
2015 - 2019 Assistant Chief
2019 - 2022 Chief of Investigations Waters retired from JSO with over 30 years of service in July 2022 in order to run for Duval County Sheriff.

Election

Mike Williams served as Jacksonville sheriff from 2015 until his retirement in June 2022 after local news reported that Williams no longer resided in Duval County as required by city charter. Florida Governor DeSantis appointed undersheriff Pat Ivey as interim sheriff until a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

could be held. Ivey declined to be a candidate in the election and no one received more than 50% of the vote, so a runoff was held coinciding with the regularly scheduled elections in Florida. T.K. Waters ultimately won the race with 55% of the vote compared to Lakesha Burton's 45%. Waters was sworn in on Sunday, November 20, 2022. Sheriff Williams' original term ended in 2023 and Waters was unopposed in the spring 2023 election.

Personal life

Waters married his wife, Robin Brown, in 1998. She works at the State Attorney’s Office as an investigator after retiring from JSO as a Detective. The couple have three children: Kevin, Jourdan and Tommy, who passed away in 2018. The family are members at Bible Believers Baptist Church in Mandarin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, T. K. 1970 births African-American police officers American police officers African-American people in Florida politics African-American sheriffs Florida sheriffs Florida Republicans Living people Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida Liberty University alumni 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people