Florida cops told a Black man they were removing his legally concealed firearm from the holster in his waistband in the name of “safety” after they accused him of running a red light – only for them to shoot him with his own gun.
Now, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s officer who shot him, Mindy Cardwell, has been terminated for “incompetency,” according to an internal affairs investigation.
Jason Arrington, the Black man who was shot with his own gun, will be filing a notice of claim against the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, which is a precursor to filing a lawsuit. He is being represented by Jacksonville attorney Kay Harper Williams of the Witherspoon Law Group.
But considering the entire incident was captured on body camera, which was finally released on Tuesday, it should lead to an easy settlement for the 40-year-old man who said the shooting injury has made it difficult for him to do his job, which consists of operating cranes and forklifts.
However, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is now saying they suspected Arrington of driving a stolen vehicle because the steering column of his car had been removed – even though none of that was mentioned to Arrington or the other cops during the traffic stop.
It fact, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer Shaun Lowry, who initiated the traffic stop, did not reveal that detail until almost a month later during a second interview with internal affairs on January 6.
During a previous interview with internal affairs on the day of the shooting in mid-December, Lowry mentioned nothing about suspecting Arrington of driving a stolen vehicle.
And body camera footage shows he was laughing as he complimented Arrington for being “compliant.”
Also, we have seen countless videos of police ordering Black people out of cars at gunpoint under the false belief they were driving stolen vehicles. Florida and JSO don’t permit removing detainees from a vehicle and disarming him unless there’s suspicion of a crime.
“It feels disingenuous,” said Arrington’s attorney, Williams, in a telephone interview with Atlanta Black Star.
“They are trying to insinuate Mr. Arrington is something other than a law-abiding, hard-working man who did nothing more than run a traffic light that day and cooperated with the police and volunteered the fact he was carrying his lawful firearm.”
But Lowry contradicted his behavior from the traffic stop as well from his previous statement to internal affairs hours after the shooting when he spoke to internal affairs the second time earlier this month.
“I had suspicions about the vehicle,” he said, according to the report. “The vehicle had some wires hanging from the center of the column for where the ignition is, so I didn’t know if it was a stolen vehicle.”
“Removing him from the vehicle was because I thought it was a stolen vehicle.”
Williams is not buying that statement.
“It’s frustrating because we would have liked to see the department take accountability, acknowledge the wrongdoing, and move on because we don’t believe any alleged damage to Mr. Arrington’s steering column played in the mind of any one of those three officers that day in their conduct,” she said.
Watch the video below which consists of body camera footage from three officers at the scene.
The Shooting
The incident took place on Dec. 13 after Lowry pulled Arrington over for allegedly running a red light.
After pulling over, Arrington told the cop the light was yellow when he drove through the intersection because he knew the cop was behind him. But Lowry claimed the light was red.
Lowry, who was talking to Arrington through the open passenger side window, asked for Arrington’s driver’s license and proof of insurance.
He then asked Arrington if he had “anything funny in the car,” and Arrington told him he had a gun on him.
“OK, as long as you’re cool,” Lowry said, laughing. “I appreciate your honesty.”
Lowry asked if he had a concealed weapons permit — which is no longer required in Florida for people legally allowed to own guns — and Arrington said he did not.
“You’re not a convicted felon or anything,” Lowry asked, and Arrington told him he was not.
Lowery then had him step out of the vehicle, “just for your safety and my safety.”
“We’re just going to remove the pistol from you,” Lowry said.
“And then we’re going to run your license and make sure everything is good, and then I’m going to send you on your way,” he added.
Lowry then turned to the other cops and said, “He’s very compliant, he does have a pistol on him,” which is not the type of attitude cops project when suspecting a person of driving a stolen car.
Cardwell and another cop were standing on the driver’s side of the car when Arrington stepped out and placed his hands on the roof of his car to allow himself to be frisked.
Lowry was walking around the car from the passenger side, approaching the driver’s side, saying, “I appreciate it, man, being very honest”— when the gunshot went off.
“Holy sh-t!” exclaimed Lowry.
“You OK?” Jacksonville sheriff’s officer Austin Weippert asked before ordering Cardwell to put the gun down on the ground.
The video shows Weippert assisting a wounded Arrington to the grass as Lowry called for rescue while Cardwell stood around, saying and doing nothing.
“They say she was in shock,” Arrington said during a press conference on Dec. 27 where and his attorney were demanding the release of body camera footage, describing Cardwell with a “nonchalant look like I didn’t do nothing wrong.”
He said the other cops apologized profusely but “she never said one word to me. Not one thing.”
The internal affairs investigation determined that Cardwell had grabbed the gun by its trigger, which is why they said it was an act of incompetency. And Arrington’s citation for running the red light was dismissed by the sheriff’s office.
“This is why we have body cams,” Williams said.
“But for the body cam footage, Mr. Arrington would have just been shot on the side of the road by his own hand. That is why they absolutely should be required in every department across the country.”
Now that the body camera footage has been released, Williams said she is gathering information to prepare her lawsuit and is trying to track a woman down who also apparently recorded the traffic stop.
