An officer who accidentally shot a driver during a traffic stop when she tried to remove his holstered gun is being fired after Internal Affairs ruled her actions incompetent, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said in releasing bodycam footage.
It happened about 5 p.m. Dec. 13 after Officer Shaun Lowry pulled over Jason Arrington stating he ran a red light at 27th and Main streets. Officers Austin Weippert and Mindy Cardwell also responded to assist in the traffic stop.
Lowry could see the steering column to the vehicle was tainted with and damaged, leading him to suspect it may have been stolen, the Sheriff’s Office said in new details released Tuesday. The driver also freely disclosed that he was armed with a firearm. So Lowry directed him to get out of his vehicle for officers to secure his weapon.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer released this image of the damaged ignition area on Jason Arrington’s truck when he was pulled over Dec. 13. The initial officer deemed this as a possible stolen vehicle and asked the driver, who was cooperative and advised he had a gun, to exit before he was accidentally shot with his own gun by another officer trying to seize it, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Both Weippert and Cardwell approached the driver’s side as Arrington got out and cooperated. Cardwell then attempted to remove the holstered firearm from Arrington’s waist while Weippert held onto him as a precaution. As Cardwell had some difficulty removing it, “she unintentionally placed multiple fingers inside the trigger guard of the firearm, causing the firearm to discharge,” the Sheriff’s. Office said.
The video shows it happened in just a couple of seconds as she was trying to seize it. She then reacted stunned and was told to put the gun down as officers came to Arrington’s aid.
In a Dec. 27 news conference called by Arrington and his attorney, the 40-year-old said he was a bit put off by how nonchalant Cardwell was about it.
“They say she was nervous and in shock. I don’t know, I saw differently,” Arrington said. “… When she shot me, the officer, the sergeant that was there, they apologized a hundred times. She never said one word to me, not one thing. She stared at me though, didn’t say anything. So I was just like, OK.”
His attorney said they are pursuing a lawsuit because his civil rights were violated and his life has been impacted due to his injuries. They also were upset that the Sheriff’s Office hadn’t even provided them the officer’s name.
The Sheriff’s Office said Arrington owned the gun legally and was not facing any criminal charges, but he was cited for running a red light. However, the ticket was later voided by the Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 20 and dismissed on Jan. 10, court records show.
“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 said.
After the incident, the Sheriff’s Office also issued a memo addressing the procedures for traffic stops and pat-downs when a person has a gun.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Bodycam shows accidental police shooting in Jacksonville traffic stop