JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville sheriff’s officer was shot in the face Tuesday night during a confrontation with a suspicious driver, police said.
Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters said the officer was attacked in the parking lot of Baptist Medical Center South. The hospital was locked down during the incident for safety reasons and all patients and staff are safe.
This is how the situation unfolded on Tuesday night:
JSO said at 9:32 p.m., an off-duty officer working Baptist South called the office because he noticed a white car driving around the parking lot, so he went out to investigate. The officer attempted to stop the car in his police cruiser. , but the car did not stop. The officer was told not to pursue the vehicle for safety reasons, but other officers in the area hearing the call responded and set up in various areas surrounding the hospital. One of the officers saw the car approaching and raised his hand as it approached and said “stop the car” numerous times. The subject in the car rolled down the window slightly, held out what appeared to be a gun and said “shoot me”. Officers did not fire at the time. The car pulled forward and pulled up next to another police vehicle and fired a shot at that car, but that officer was not hit and did not return fire at that time. The car continued to drive like other policemen. the cruisers followed the car and attempted a PIT maneuver, which was unsuccessful. The car was then behind the police cruiser that the subject fired at and rear-ended, pushing it forward and flipping onto its side. a head cruise and then crashed into a post. Numerous cruisers then blocked the subject in and gave strong verbal commands for the subject to get out of the car repeatedly. The subject refused to get out of the car. An officer approached the car from the rear right side and attempted to open the rear passenger door. The subject fired at the officer, striking him in the face. Five officers returned fire and struck the subject multiple times, killing him at the scene.
Waters said Wednesday morning that the officer is doing better. Law enforcement sources tell Action News Jax that the officer is Taylor Smith. Waters told Action News news partner Jax News 104.5 WOKV that the officer is engaged to be married.
The officer was transferred for life to UF Health Jacksonville, as UF Health has the only Level I trauma system in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia.
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Waters said this is the fifth officer-involved shooting of the year and the third where an officer has shot himself.
Waters also told Action News Jax that the officer who was shot graduated from the same class as Officer Malik Daricaud, who was shot and critically injured during a March 27 traffic stop.
Waters said in his nearly 32 years as an officer, he has never seen anything like what has happened so far this year with so many officer-involved shootings.
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“I’ve been sheriff since November. It’s getting very ridiculous, it’s very dangerous and it’s concerning. So we want to make sure our officers and our citizens know they did the right thing tonight,” Waters said.
Waters told WOKV that the officer is improving after suffering injuries to his chin and neck area. He is currently still in critical condition.
Action News Jax is working to get more information about the suspect who was killed and the officer who was injured.
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Other local law enforcement agencies have posted messages of support for the Jacksonville officer.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with this injured officer and his JSO family this morning. NCSO wishes a full and speedy recovery.” the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page.
“Another beautiful morning in Clay County! As we start the day, let’s all take a moment to pray for the JSO officer who was shot last night.” Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook posted on her Facebook page.
LISTEN: Sheriff TK Waters on the Jacksonville Morning News
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/04-19-2023/t_b1d7e10a10f64458b3322d08b586f0aa_name_file_960x540_1200_v3_1_.jpg "'It's getting really ridiculous:' 3rd Jacksonville officer shot in 2023 is getting better, sheriff says - Action News Jax 2")
There was an incident outside #BaptistSouth this afternoon. Security noticed a suspicious person outside the hospital and alerted the off-duty campus police officer. The officer called @JSOPIO for additional support. Baptist South was closed for safety… (1/2)
— Baptist Health (@BaptistHealthJx) April 19, 2023
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