In Florida, a traffic stop turned bloody when an officer accidentally fired a gun while trying to remove it from a driver’s waistband, injuring the driver.
Videos by Suggest
According to the Miami Herald, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released footage of the shooting and announced on January 21 that Officer Mindy Cardwell had been terminated.
Meanwhile, the 40-year-old driver has declared his plans to sue.
According to an internal affairs report obtained by the Miami Herald, JSO officers stopped a driver on December 13, alleging he had run a red light. However, the driver maintained that the light was yellow when he passed through the intersection.
According to the report, a male officer asked the driver if he had anything “crazy” in the car. The driver admitted that he was carrying a gun.
Body-worn camera footage captures the officer thanking the driver for his honesty, to which the driver responded that he wouldn’t “tell a lie.” The officer informed his colleagues that the driver was carrying a pistol but emphasized that he was being “very compliant.” In the video, the officers asked the driver to step out of the car to safely disarm him.
The man exited the SUV and informed them that he had a pistol at his side. He then complied with instructions, placing his hands on the roof. Meanwhile, Officer Cardwell attempted to remove the gun from his waistband.
The footage then shows her discharging the firearm into the driver’s leg.
A seemingly stunned Cardwell stands frozen following the shot as the driver bellows in pain.
Another officer instructed her to lower the gun before they began administering first aid to the driver. They applied a tourniquet to his leg, maintaining pressure until emergency medical personnel arrived.
According to the report, he was transported to the hospital in stable condition.
The Florida Officer Wishes She Could Go Back and Do a ‘Thousand Things Differently’ During the Traffic Stop
In an interview with internal affairs, Cardwell explained that she accidentally slipped her finger into the trigger guard while handling the firearm with her non-dominant hand.
“Unfortunately, combined with the holster and the pants, it just was not coming out freely,” Cardwell recalled in the report via the Miami Herald. “I think, not being aware of where my fingers were on the inside of the trigger. Obviously, an accident happened that I’m at fault for. In hindsight, I wish we could have slowed it down and done a thousand things differently,” she admitted.
The agency determined that Cardwell demonstrated severe incompetence. However, investigators chose not to file criminal charges.
The officer who initially pulled over the driver suspected his vehicle was stolen due to an exposed steering column. The registration confirmed the vehicle belonged to the driver.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville Today reports that the Sheriff’s Office updated its firearm policies for traffic stops after the shooting. A memo from December 18 reminded officers that carrying a concealed firearm doesn’t automatically make someone a threat or mean they aren’t allowed to carry it.
“Unless an officer has articulable suspicion that the detained person presents a threat to the safety of citizens or officers or has knowledge that the detained person is ineligible to carry a concealed firearm, officers should not seize a firearm (I.e., remove it from the holster, vehicle, pocket, bag, etc.) from someone lawfully carrying it,” the memo read.