JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For the first time, we are hearing from a man who was shot with his own gun during a Jacksonville traffic stop.
Jason Arrington and his attorney Kay Harper Williams held a news conference downtown on Friday. They announced their plans to file a lawsuit in connection with the incident.
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Arrington said his gun went off when a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer was trying to remove it from his holster during a traffic stop on Friday, Dec. 13 on North Main Street near 27th Street in Brentwood.
“She tugged on the gun the first time then she tugged again,” Arringto said. “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.
RELATED: Jacksonville police change policy after driver’s gun went off during traffic stop
“My hands were on top of the truck,” Arrington said. “So when the gun went off, I kept my hands on top of the truck because I didn’t want no one else thinking it was me.”
According to JSO, they were told about the gun during the stop and Arrington cooperated without any struggle.
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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Arrington’s attorney acknowledged this update to JSO’s policy but argued that it is not enough to prevent something like this from happening again.
“The issue is this female officer who for whatever reason chose to continue to tug at Mr. Arrington’s waistband and cause his firearm to go off,” Williams said. “We don’t believe that the gun malfunctioned.”
Arrington’s attorney has concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding this incident. They are particularly calling on JSO to release the body camera footage of this incident. Action News Jax has also requested that footage.
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Just after Arrington’s news conference, JSO shared the following statement on social media:
“The details of the incident that occurred on Main Street on December 13th are part of an active internal affairs investigation. Per FSS 112.533(2)(a) and 112.533(4), active internal affairs investigations, to include the identity of the officer and information learned during the investigation, are confidential until the investigation has concluded. The law does allow us to acknowledge that an investigation is currently underway.
“An active internal affairs investigation is different from an administrative review of a critical incident, which JSO conducts for all officer-involved shootings. Active internal affairs investigations are subject to certain statutory restrictions covered under the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (FSS 112.532). As is customary in these types of investigations, the officer under investigation may have his or her law enforcement authority rescinded. That authority has been rescinded for this officer and the officer was reassigned to an administrative position until the active internal affairs investigation is complete.
“Separately, due to pending litigation in this case, we will be unable to comment further.”
According to court records, Arrington’s traffic citation was “voided by agency.”
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