48 Jacksonville cops laid off as standoff continues between union, sheriff

Forty-eight Jacksonville police officers are being laid off as the Sheriff's Office cuts payroll to handle a shrunken 2012 budget, Nelson Cuba, the police union's president, said Tuesday.

Cuba said he learned the number of layoffs from a letter sent to the union from the city's Human Resources Department. Another 23 vacancies have been eliminated, along with an uncertain number of civilian employees, Cuba said.

The police layoffs, from the last two police academy classes, occurred Monday and Tuesday.

Rutherford has been repeatedly critical of the police union opposing a 2 percent salary cut, which the sheriff said would allow him to fund the positions. Cuba called that argument "smoke and mirrors."