JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An Orange Park Police officer is being investigated for an incident where he was punched several times after almost hitting a woman with his car, while allegedly drinking and driving.
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A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office incident report obtained by Action News Jax, reveals officer Jordan Fuentes was seen stumbling around a Publix parking lot at 2771 Monument Rd on Saturday, Dec. 9 just before 6 p.m.
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“Ever since this happen, I’ve been scared to walk outside apartment complex,” Tranita Hightower said.
Hightower said she called 911 after she and her son were almost hit by a jeep that swerved into the parking lot of the Publix shopping plaza. That’s when she noticed, the driver may have been impaired.
“I feel like he needs to be fired,” Hightower said. “He needs to be held accountable for what he did, because he could have killed me that day.”
A JSO incident report reveals Fuentes was driving the black jeep wrangler that witnesses stated, “swerved and almost hit” Hightower. It also says witnesses claimed Fuentes “got out of the vehicle very aggressive “ready to fight.’”
Read: Woman found guilty of chasing down, killing hit-and-run driver in Clayton County
“He’s being belligerent, and he was like, ‘Oh, you’re calling the cops, I am the Police,’” Hightower said. “And he took out his wallet, and he had the badge and he was bragging about him saying he can get away with.”
The incident report states a JSO officer saw Fuentes with “clear signs of intoxication … including stumbling, slurred speech, and a strong odor of alcoholic beverage.”
That’s when things escalated. Before police arrived, Hightower said her son punched Fuentes. The report states after police arrived, her husband, Tyree Jennings, punched Fuentes several times. Jennings was detained, and then released shortly after.
The incident report adds police did not arrest Fuentes because he “did not have possession of his keys,” and “the incident was not observed by a Law Enforcement Officer.”
Hightower said this infuriates her.
“It’s not fair because they go to school to get trained for this type of stuff, then why is it okay for them not to obey the rules?
Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson – with decades of law enforcement experience – says driving under the influence is a misdemeanor.
Officers are allowed to make probable cause arrests for misdemeanors only when they actually view the crime,” Carson said. “They can’t use witness statements.”
Despite Fuentes having all the signs of an impaired person, Carson says there is still one factor missing for an arrest.
“The only element of that crime that is not present, is the officer seeing him driving the vehicle,” Carson said. “And even though other people saw him driving vehicle, that’s not sufficient under Florida law to allow for his arrest for DUI.”
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The Orange Park Police Department spokesperson says officer Fuentes was off duty during the incident. And Fuentes is currently on duty pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.
Orange Park Police Department released the following statement:
“The purpose of this media release is to inform the public that we are aware of the alcohol-related incident involving our officer which recently took place off duty in Jacksonville. Immediately following the incident, our Internal Affairs investigators began conducting an investigation into the allegations of misconduct. Anytime allegations of wrongdoing are made regarding our employees, we make great efforts to ensure these incidents are properly and completely investigated and that appropriate actions are taken based upon those findings. Due to the fact this incident is still actively being investigated by Internal Affairs, we will not be releasing any specific details surrounding the case. Please understand that the Orange Park Police Department remains committed to maintaining the trust of our community, which includes ensuring our staff are held to the highest standards and kept accountable for their actions on or off duty.”
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