By Joanna Putman
Police1
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage from an officer-involved shooting of a man who tried to stab another man repeatedly with a butter knife, Action News Jax reported.
The incident began on Oct. 28 when officers responded to a carjacking call, according to the report. Officers Rose and Montgomery encountered a 54-year-old suspect, whom bystanders said had been wielding a knife. Witnesses reported that the man had behaved aggressively toward the carjacking victim’s family and attempted to stab another individual.
The bodycam footage shows both officers speaking to one of the carjacking victims when the suspect ran up to a man and began to attack him with a knife. Both officers repeatedly instructed the man to drop the knife. The man did not comply, leading both officers to fire shots, striking him.
After securing the man, the officers administered first aid to both the victim and the suspect. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report.
“The way the entire scenario took place was very quick, a lot of confusion, a lot of noise,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said during the on-scene briefing. “You could hear someone yelling out, ‘He’s got a knife.’ The officer saw the stabbing motion. ... When an officer sees that kind of thing happen, they have to take action at some point and do what they have to do to try to save lives. And that’s what they did in that case.”
The suspect had a lengthy criminal history and had recently been released from a five-year prison term. The State Attorney’s Office will conduct an independent review of the incident, followed by an internal review by JSO, according to the report.
