A police officer in Florida dumped his magazine on a handcuffed suspect after he thought he heard a gunshot that was actually the sound of an acorn falling on his patrol vehicle.
The facts that are hard to believe but illustrate the psychosis associated with guns in a country where they abound occurred in broad daylight in November 2023 in Okaloosa County, according to a recent report from the local sheriff published video shows.
The video shows the police officer named Jesse Hernandez preparing to return to his vehicle, which is parked on the sidewalk under an oak tree. Sitting in the back seat of the car and handcuffed was a 24-year-old suspect who had just been arrested.
That's when an acorn fell on the roof body, according to the in-depth eight-week investigation that resulted in a 44-page report.
The sound of the falling acorn can be heard in the body-worn camera footage of Officer Hernandez, who begins shouting “Shots!” exactly 1.1 seconds after the harmless impact. Fire!”
Then, in a completely exaggerated reaction, the police officer threw himself to the ground, rolled over, drew his service weapon and shot several times at his own patrol vehicle.
“I'm touched! I'm hit!” he can be heard screaming in the video, although no one is aiming at him.
At the same time, a colleague of the police officer, who was also outside the vehicle, drew her weapon and emptied her magazine towards the vehicle.
Miraculously, the handcuffed suspect in the back seat was not struck by the multiple bullets that struck the car. The investigation revealed that this man, Marquis Jackson, who was suspected of petty theft, was not carrying a firearm.
Officer Hernandez, a former soldier recently recruited into law enforcement, was convicted of excessive use of deadly force.
According to the investigative report, he explained that he confused the sound of the falling acorn with the detonation of a silenced pistol. He resigned from the police force.
“I realize this was a truly dramatic and traumatic moment for Mr. Jackson, and we are so relieved and grateful that he was not injured,” Sheriff Eric Aden said before publicly apologizing.