The Daily Populous Friday January 24th, 2025 day edition
Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by PushTheTrigger

A Florida police officer has been fired after she accidentally shot a driver with his own gun during a traffic stop.

Officer Shaun Lowry, of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, stopped driver Jason Arrington for running a red light around 5:10 p.m. on December 13, 2024, according to an internal affairs report shared by the sheriff's office. Officers Mindy Cardwell and Austin Weippert assisted in the stop.

Arrington, who police described as "cooperative" during the stop, informed Lowry that he had a legal firearm on his body. He complied with instructions to step out of the vehicle, police said on social media.

Cardwell then went to remove the weapon, identified in the internal affairs reported as a Glock .45 semi-automatic pistol, from a holster on Arrington's waistband. According to the internal affairs report, Cardwell "put pressure on the trigger of the firearm, causing the weapon to fire a round into Arrington's right leg."

Arrington told investigators that Cardwell "jerked" the weapon several times, causing the discharge, according to the report. Cardwell told investigators that the holster was tight and "would not come off" Arrington's waistband, and said she had been using her non-dominant hand to remove the weapon.

𝐉𝐒𝐎 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐉𝐒𝐎 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒, 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 On December 13th, 2024, Police Officer S. Lowry conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle operated by Jason Arrington for running a red light. Officers A. Weippert and M. Cardwell responded to assist on the traffic stop. Mr. Arrington, who was cooperative during the traffic stop, informed Officer Lowry that he was armed with a firearm. Officer Lowry directed Mr. Arrington to exit his vehicle, and he cooperated. Officer Cardwell then attempted to remove the firearm from the waist of Mr. Arrington. While Officer Cardwell was attempting to remove the firearm, it discharged, striking Mr. Arrington in the leg. The Internal Affairs investigation resulted in a sustained charge of incompetence against Officer Cardwell and JSO has begun termination proceedings for Officer Cardwell. Consistent with Sheriff Waters’ commitment to transparency, JSO is releasing Body Worn Camera footage from all three officers and a photograph of the damaged steering column. You can find the redacted Internal Affairs summation of the investigation of this incident on tinyurl.com/JSO-121324. Posted by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Police released bodycamera footage of the incident from all three officers. After the gun goes off, Lowry can be heard yelling "Holy s---!" and Weippert can be heard asking Arrington if he is OK. Weippert and Lowry instructed Cardwell to put the gun down, and the pair then radioed for help. Weippert can be seen helping Arrington over to the side of the road, and began applying a tourniquet. Blood can be seen on Arrington's pants leg. Cardwell also helped provide first aid.

Arrington was transported to an area hospital in stable condition, the internal affairs report said. He told investigators that the injury had made it harder to do his job, which he said involved operating equipment like cranes and forklifts.

An internal affairs investigation into Cardwell's behavior was launched. A charge of incompetence was filed against Cardwell, and she has been fired, police said.

Cardwell had been "working in an off-duty capacity" under the office's Group Violence Intervention initiative, according to the report. The initiative is meant to reduce crime while fostering relationships between law enforcement and the public, local media reported.

The incident resulted in new policy from the sheriff's office about how to deal with encounters where someone is legally armed, according to the internal affairs report. Now, officers should not seize a firearm if a person is lawfully carrying it, according to the report.

Away-Ad-4444 on January 24th, 2025 at 11:53 UTC »

The worst part was there was no reason to remove the gun in the first place.. it wasn't for officer safety as he left the man's site while trying to get him out of the car... he had volunteered that he had it and was clearly cooperating. How was it any more dangerous to leave it where it was than to take it from him.

gc3 on January 24th, 2025 at 06:30 UTC »

Statistics show if you carry a gun you are more likely to be shot. By your own gun. Its for reasons like this

sillyboy42 on January 24th, 2025 at 02:03 UTC »

It's okay folks, she'll be a cop in Alabama or Utah in a couple weeks. She'll be fine.