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On Monday, February 12, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office released body camera footage of Florida deputy Jesse Hernandez firing multiple shots into a patrol car. The vehicle holding a handcuffed suspect was subjected to open fire after Hernandez mistook an acorn falling on the car for gunfire. The policeman's commotion prompted his fellow officer to respond with further shots. As per official reports, the suspect, Marquis Jackson, did not sustain any injuries.
The incident took place on November 12, 2023. Following this, Hernandez was the subject of an internal probe. However, he resigned while under investigation. Netizens trolled the cop for overreacting because of an acorn and stated that his actions were reckless and could have turned deadly. One X user commented:
Florida deputy trolled for mistaking Acorn for gunshots
According to an Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office investigation report, on November 12, deputies Jesse Hernandez, Javier Reyna, Deja Riley, and Sgt. Beth Roberts responded to a Fort Walton Beach caller who claimed that her boyfriend Marquis Jackson had allegedly stolen her car and had even allegedly sent her threats.
After Jackson arrived at the location a few minutes later, he was immediately searched, handcuffed, and transported to the back of Florida deputy Jesse Hernandez's patrol car. Deputies Javier Reyna and Deja Riley went to look for the vehicle, which they located nearby, and Roberts worked with the caller while Hernandez approached his car to conduct a further search on Jackson.
The investigation report detailed that Hernandez heard a loud sound and felt an impact, which he perceived to be gunshots. Bodycam footage reveals an acorn hitting the roof of his patrol car, at which point Hernandez fell to the ground and rolled multiple times, yelling "Shots fired!" before getting up and shooting the patrol vehicle several times in a row. He even claimed repeatedly that he was hit.
Roberts asked him if he was okay, and she responded with multiple shots of her own. Hernandez claimed that the suspect shot through the car as he struggled to find cover before saying that he was good but he felt "weird." The suspect, Marquis Jackson, was not injured in the imaginary confrontation.
An internal investigation was conducted into the incident, and a First Judicial Circuit state attorney's office independent review was also requested. The investigation concluded in January, stating in a press release that no probable cause for imposing any criminal charges on Hernandez was found. However, the Florida deputy in question resigned in December before its conclusion.
Netizens trolled the Florida deputy for responding to an acorn with gunshots and claimed that he should not be a cop in the first place. Some thought that the Florida deputy was living out a fantasy and felt sorry for the mental state of the man in the car. Here are a few reactions to Tizzy Ent's tweet about the situation:
The man in the patrol vehicle, Marquis Jackson, recounted the whole incident in a Facebook post.
"All I could do was lean over and play dead to prevent getting shot in the head. I was scared to death and I knew all I could depend on was God! I ignored everything and prayed! Windows were shattering on me the whole time as bullets continued flying across me," Jackson said.
He added:
"I was blessed not to get hit by any bullets or get hurt physically but mentally, I’m not ok. I haven’t been the same since and I don’t think this feeling I have will ever change. I truly believe I’m damaged for life!"
Marquis stated that officers told him to put his hands up while he was hands up and surrounded him with their weapons drawn. Once he managed to showcase that he did not have a weapon, he was "slammed" to the ground and searched yet again. After being taken to the Okaloosa County Courthouse and made to wait hours in a cell, he was later let go without any charges.
