JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville officer who injured a man during a traffic stop in December 2024 has been fired, JSO announced Tuesday. Officer Mindy Cardwell pulled the motorist over after he reportedly ran a red light on North Main Street near 27th Street in Brentwood on Dec. 13.
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Jason Arrington, the motorist, told Action News Jax he was ordered out of his vehicle when he made officers aware that he had a firearm. “She tugged on the gun the first time then she tugged again,” Arrington said about Cardwell. “And that’s when I told her, ‘Let me unloosen my belt because it’s tight.’”
He said that the officer pulled even harder and that’s when the gun went off. The bullet hit him in the upper thigh. “The Internal Affairs investigation resulted in a sustained charge of incompetence against Officer Cardwell and JSO has begun termination proceedings for Officer Cardwell,” the sheriff’s office posted on social media Tuesday.
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What happened to Arrington resulted in JSO changing it’s policy in dealing with people they encounter who are legally armed.
JSO released a memorandum on Dec. 18 detailing how officers should deal with someone carrying a concealed weapon. In that memorandum, it said officers “should not seize a firearm from someone lawfully carrying it.”
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𝐉𝐒𝐎 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐉𝐒𝐎 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒, 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 On December 13th, 2024, Police Officer S. Lowry conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle operated by Jason Arrington for running a red light. Officers A. Weippert and M. Cardwell responded to assist on the traffic stop. Mr. Arrington, who was cooperative during the traffic stop, informed Officer Lowry that he was armed with a firearm. Officer Lowry directed Mr. Arrington to exit his vehicle, and he cooperated. Officer Cardwell then attempted to remove the firearm from the waist of Mr. Arrington. While Officer Cardwell was attempting to remove the firearm, it discharged, striking Mr. Arrington in the leg. The Internal Affairs investigation resulted in a sustained charge of incompetence against Officer Cardwell and JSO has begun termination proceedings for Officer Cardwell. Consistent with Sheriff Waters’ commitment to transparency, JSO is releasing Body Worn Camera footage from all three officers and a photograph of the damaged steering column. You can find the redacted Internal Affairs summation of the investigation of this incident on tinyurl.com/JSO-121324.
Posted by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, January 21, 2025
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