Former PPD Officer Facing To Additional Charges Of Failing To Disclose HIV Status To Partner

May 31, 2026

A now-former Pensacola Police Department officer is facing two new charges of allegedly having sexual intercourse with someone without informing them of his HIV status. He was initially arrested on one count in March 2026.

On Friday, Pierce Avery Cotton, 32, was arrested on the two new counts of third degree felony “crime against person — HIV infected person having sex without informing partner.”

He is now facing three total counts.

In a brief statement released in March 2026, a PPD spokesperson said, “On March 13, 2026, the Pensacola Police Department arrested PPD Officer Pierce Cotton, charged with Florida State Statute 384.24(2).”

F.S. 384.24(2) states:

“It is unlawful for any person who has human immunodeficiency virus infection, when such person knows he or she is infected with this disease and when such person has been informed that he or she may communicate this disease to another person through sexual intercourse, to have sexual intercourse with any other person, unless such other person has been informed of the presence of the sexually transmissible disease and has consented to the sexual intercourse.”

Cotton is pictured in a February 2023 PPD photo. His mugshot is exempt from disclosure under Florida law.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FRONT TOP