JACKSONVILLE, Florida — A police officer in Jacksonville, Florida accidentally shot a man with his own gun during a traffic stop.
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On Dec. 13, 2024, Police Officer Lowry conducted a traffic stop on Jason Arrington for running a red light, according to a Facebook post from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
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Arrington was cooperative during the traffic stop and informed Lowry that he was carrying a gun.
Lowry then asked Arrington to step out of the vehicle, and he cooperated.
Officers Weippert and Cardwell, who responded to assist with the traffic stop, attempted to secure the firearm.
Officer Cardwell attempted to remove the gun from Arrington’s waist holster, and accidentally shot Arrington in the leg.
“Once investigators learned the shooting was unintentional, the Internal Affairs Unit of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office immediately began an investigation into this incident,” the post from the sheriff’s office read.
The investigation revealed that Officer Lowry had noticed the steering column of Arrington’s vehicle was damaged, which led him to suspect the vehicle was stolen.
That, and the fact that Arrington had informed Lowry that he was armed, was the reason why Lowry asked him to exit the vehicle.
Cardwell attempted to remove the gun from the holster while Weippert held onto Arrington. Cardwell had trouble removing the gun from the holster, according to the post.
“When Officer Cardwell was finally able to remove the firearm from the holster, she unintentionally placed multiple fingers inside the trigger guard of the firearm, causing the firearm to discharge,” the post read.
The investigation resulted in a charge of incompetence against Officer Cardwell and she was terminated from the Sheriff’s office.
𝐉𝐒𝐎 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐉𝐒𝐎 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
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