Current:Home > ContactFalling acorn spooks Florida deputy who fired into his own car, then resigned: See video -AssetBase
Falling acorn spooks Florida deputy who fired into his own car, then resigned: See video
View
Date:2025-04-15 17:38:17
An Florida deputy has resigned after an investigation into exactly why he emptied his clip into his own vehicle with a handcuffed suspect inside after mistaking a falling acorn as suppressed weapons fire.
In the released video, Okaloosa County Sheriff's Deputy Jesse Hernandez was walking toward the car where Marquis Jackson, 22, had been detained and handcuffed. Jackson had been driving around the neighborhood of his girlfriend, Celestiana Lopez, near Green Acres in Fort Walton Beach, for nearly six hours honking the horn. Lopez said he was refusing to return the vehicle and had threatened her by call and text.
She also showed deputies a picture from inside the car that appeared to show a firearm suppressor.
No suppressor was found on Jackson but one of the deputies already on the scene, Sgt. Beth Roberts, told Hernandez about the picture when he arrived. Hernandez told the other deputies to detain Jackson and he was put into Hernandez's vehicle.
Why did a Florida deputy fire on his own car?
In the released video, Hernandez can be seen approaching his car when an acorn falls and strikes the top of it.
Hernandez, who has a military background, immediately dropped to the ground, yelling "Shots fired!" again and again before rolling up and firing at the rear of the car. At one point he fell to the ground while firing, yelling he had been hit, and continued to shoot.
Roberts responded and began firing at the car herself from the side. In her own bodycam video, Roberts can be seen rushing to his aid and firing into the car herself before calling in "shots fired, officer down." Hernandez can be seen crawling away.
Was the suspect in the deputy's vehicle hurt?
Somehow Jackson was uninjured in the crossfire, despite Hernandez emptying his clip into the back of the car and Roberts shooting from the side.
Was the deputy who shot at an acorn fired?
Hernandez resigned on Dec. 4 following the investigation. The final results of the investigation found that his use of deadly force against Jackson was "not objectively reasonable."
Roberts was exonerated of any wrongdoing.
veryGood! (487)
Related
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Ban on electronic skill games in Virginia reinstated by state Supreme Court
- 5 Things podcast: Controversy ignited over Smithsonian's Museum of the American Latino
- Tips pour into Vermont State Police following sketch related to trail homicide
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- GOP quickly eyes Trump-backed hardliner Jim Jordan as House speaker but not all Republicans back him
- Jenkins to give up Notre Dame presidency at end of 2023-2024 school year
- Members of Congress seek clemency for Native American leader convicted of murder
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Schools near a Maui wildfire burn zone are reopening. Parents wrestle with whether to send kids back
Ranking
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Medicare Part B premiums for 2024 will cost more: Here's how much you'll pay
- Horoscopes Today, October 13, 2023
- How to protect your eyes during the ring of fire solar eclipse this weekend
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Alabama lawmaker, assistant plead not guilty to federal charges
- North Carolina Medicaid expansion still set for Dec. 1 start as federal regulators give final OK
- 17-year-old boy arrested in Morgan State University mass shooting, 2nd suspect identified
Recommendation
Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
Louisiana considers creating hunting season for once-endangered black bears
U.S. reopening facility near southern border to house unaccompanied migrant children
Poland prepares to vote in a high-stakes national election with foreign ties and democracy at stake
Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
Biden Announces Huge Hydrogen Investment. How Much Will It Help The Climate?
Barrage of bomb threats emailed to schools cancels classes across the Baltic countries
Ohio’s Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks mark UNESCO World Heritage designation