JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4JAX obtained a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office memo that was sent to patrol officers after an accidental shooting during a traffic stop.
On Dec. 13, a man pulled over for a traffic violation informed the officer that he had a gun, according to JSO. When the officer attempted to remove it from his waistband after asking him to step outside the vehicle, the gun went off, hitting the man in the leg, JSO said.
News4JAX recently spoke with civil rights attorney Eric Friday who explained how gun laws work in Florida and detailed driver’s rights for those who own a gun.
The first part of the memo addresses individuals carrying concealed firearms, especially after a new Florida gun law took effect last year that allows people to conceal-carry without a permit as long as they are legally allowed to have a firearm.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney talked about how the new Florida law impacts officers' approach to people with guns.
“Officers encounter a lot more people with guns. The burden is there in determining who is legally able to carry guns and who aren’t, but still walking that line of protecting people’s civil rights to carry those firearms,” Hackney said.
View the memorandum below:
In the second section of the memo, it states that a person carrying a concealed firearm does not mean that person poses a threat or isn’t allowed to carry a concealed gun.
It also says that officers should not seize a detained person’s gun or remove it from a holster or vehicle without “articulable suspicion” that the person presents a threat to the safety of others, including the officer.
The incident is currently under investigation.