The bodycam footage from an incident that preceded a Florida deputy’s recent resignation has been released.
On Nov. 12, 2023, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s deputies responded at 8:42 a.m. to a call about a car driving around, honking its horn, and disrupting the peace since 3 a.m.
Another call to police claimed the driver was Marquis Jackson and he had allegedly committed grand theft auto before sending threatening texts featuring pictures of firearms to his girlfriend.
The Sheriff’s Department says Jackson was taken into custody after he arrived at the scene around 9:09 a.m.
He was searched, handcuffed, and put in the backseat of Deputy Jesse Hernandez’s patrol vehicle, according to WJHG.
The 911 caller, allegedly Jackson’s girlfriend, told officers he had a silencer but she wasn’t sure where it was.
She also stated that he had more than one weapon.
During the bodycam footage, Hernandez can be approaching the rear door of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s SUV to do another search of Jackson when he jumped to the ground yelling “shots fired” multiple times before firing into the vehicle.
Hernandez claimed he heard a “pop” sound that he thought as a gunshot and thought he had been hit.
After witnessing Hernandez, Sergeant Beth Roberts shot toward the car as well.
Deputies say witnesses confirmed they did hear a sound that could have been a muffled gunshot.
Jackson was not injured by the officer’s gunfire and no gun was found in the department’s SUV.
After the investigation determined Deputy Hernandez’s use of force was not objectively reasonable, he resigned on Dec. 4.
Roberts was exonerated after an investigation.
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