Jacksonville — Police officers face inarguably dangerous situations. Often.
In the case of Monday’s officer involved shooting, new body cam video released today by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office details, vividly, just how quickly a moment can change for those in uniform.
In a live news conference from JSO headquarters, Director Mike Bruno shared broke down the chain of events that could have easily cost an officer his life.
Action News Jax told you yesterday that a JSO officer shot a suspect in two robberies on Jacksonville’s Westside.
JSO said there were 2 back-to-back robberies -- one at a check cashing business on Edgewood Avenue and another at the Monterey Motel on New Kings Road -- within 30 minutes of each other.
These two robberies, according to investigators, appeared to fit a pattern in a string of robberies to Jacksonville businesses between March 2 and March 8.
Following the second robbery on New Kings Road, a witness provided detectives a vehicle description for the suspect (a red Toyota RAV4) that was then distributed to police officers in the area.
The first officer to spot the suspect vehicle had not yet started his shift when he conducted a traffic stop on Line Street, giving verbal commands for the suspect to get out of the vehicle.
As the suspect’s vehicle stops, the driver and front passenger doors open.
While the passenger, Andre Williams, is seen exiting the vehicle with his hands above his head, the driver, Luis Alberto Ceballos Rodriguez, quickly steps out of the vehicle firing at the officer.
Bruno said body cam footage shows the time between the officer putting his patrol vehicle in park and the gunfire was only 14 seconds.
Bruno revealed a third passenger -- a woman named Elizabeth Steele -- left the vehicle at some point during the exchange.
Rodriguez then gets back in the vehicle and races from the scene.
After officers were able to successfully able to corner him in the vehicle, Rodriguez runs on foot and is tracked down in a nearby dumpster.
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JSO said the officer involved in the shooting suffered minor injuries, but was not shot, while a person involved in the shooting was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
For the officer who initiated the traffic stop, Bruno says this is his second officer-involved shooting since joining the force in 2015.
Rodriguez is now charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer as well as 2 counts of armed robbery.
Andre Williams, 50, and Elizabeth Steele, 39, are charged with armed robbery.
See the new body cam footage from JSO’s press conference below.