- March 3, 2025
Despite not breaking any agency policies, Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre said he will change his personal policy after taking his agency-issued Dodge Charger on a personal trip over the summer to Virginia to visit his daughter and son-in-law.
“My position has been from the very beginning that there’s only one of me, and I’m on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and I take that seriously,” Manfre said Tuesday. “So my car goes with me wherever I go for that very simple reason.”
While in Charlottesville, Va., a U-Haul trailer struck the rear bumper on Manfre’s car.
Agency policy requires that any time an agency vehicle is damaged, whether or not through a traffic crash, “it shall be documented on an incident report and reported to the Division Director via the chain of command” and other appropriate actions taken as directed by policy.
Agency vehicles may not be taken out of the county without permission, the Sheriff’s Office’s policy states. But because Manfre is the highest-ranking official in the Sheriff’s Office, there is no one above him to ask.
When Manfre returned to Flagler County, he brought his car to the county garage and informed the county of the minor damage.
In March, the county and the Sheriff’s Office combined the garage and report operations; those matters are now addressed by the county. The procedure is whenever a patrol car is damaged and needs repair for work that isn’t done in-house, the county goes out for three bids.
But the county only acquired two bids, not three. According to documents provided by Carl Laundrie, communications manager for the county, Flagler Collision estimated it would cost $255 to do the repairs, and J&J Auto Body Inc. estimated the repairs at $340.
The sheriff had the car repaired by Celico Auto Body, in Bunnell, which never provided a third bid but did the work for free, according to Cmdr. Bob Weber, public information officer for the Sheriff's Office.
Manfre reiterated Tuesday that he didn’t violate any agency policy, but he said he understands the public perception of the situation.
“There was no intent to hide this,” Manfre said. “The public is my employer. ... When people question what you do, you need to take into account their position. In this case, there are two sides to this argument, but it’s not an argument that I choose to have.”
Manfre said he would do things differently next time.
“I understand these are difficult economic times, and we are looking for every way to save money,” he said, “so I can understand the public perception, and that’s why I’m changing my personal policy.”
