ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A former St. Johns County Sheriff's Office sergeant who was arrested last week on a charge of interfering with child custody was arrested again Wednesday on the same charge.
Deputies said Catherine Payne again tried to take her 6-year-old son, Reid Payne, from his elementary school, but when she showed up, the school called deputies.
She claimed she was given permission by the judge in Nassau County who's presiding over her divorce to pick up her son, deputies said. They said that wasn't true.
Payne's bond was revoked and she was taken to the Nassau County jail.
Her estranged husband says Payne's mental state has deteriorated quickly.
"Never any behavior like what we've seen in the last month or two," Phillip Payne said. "Very unstable to the point that I don't feel she's able to care for a child by herself."
Catherine Payne was arrested Oct. 21 after deputies said she picked up her son from school and drove to Fernandina Beach, violating a court order. An Amber Alert was briefly issued for her son. Payne bonded out of jail the next day.
The 37-year-old woman was terminated Monday from the Sheriff's Office after an internal investigation sustained five allegations against her.
The allegations sustained against her, according to the Sheriff's Office, were using her position to influence another person to further a personal agenda, failure to obey a lawful order from a superior officer, refusal to obey a lawful order from a superior officer, actions and statements that bring the Sheriff's Office into disrepute or ridicule, and conduct unbecoming.
The internal investigation concluded that Payne was not stable enough to continue working and quoted Sheriff David Shoar, saying, "We should all do the best that we can to help Sgt. Payne to somehow stay focused on addressing her medical condition without distractions. Anything less would be regrettable."
Payne made her first appearance in Nassau County court on the second charge on Wednesday afternoon.
Asked how Reid is doing, Phillip Payne said he is doing very well. They are keeping him sheltered from the situation so once his mother gets the help she needs and the legal issues behind her, things can get back to normal faster.
"Right now I can speak for her family," Phillip Payne said. "We want it to be more of a private matter for everyone involved, especially Reid."
The husband, an Florida Highway Patrol trooper, also denied speculation spread on social media that he used his influence as a law enforcement officer to get her into trouble.