JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An advocacy group is demanding accountability from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the creation of a civilian oversight board after an officer fatally shot Brian Gillis during a mental health crisis.
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The Jacksonville Community Action Committee (JCAC) released a statement on its Instagram page with a list of demands, including calling on JSO to fire and jail the officer involved.
We Demand
Jacksonville Community Action Committee
Body camera footage released by JSO last week showed K-9 Officer Caleb Bumgarner shooting and killing Gillis, who was wielding a knife and suspected of arson amid a mental health episode on Aug. 13.
JSO said his mother called JSO around 7 a.m. to request that he be held for a mental health evaluation.
After Gillis ran off and was found by Bumgarner, the footage shows Bumgarner telling Gillis to drop the knife he was carrying, and he immediately shot Gillis multiple times as he was running away.
JSO said Gillis didn’t have a criminal history, but he had been Baker Acted multiple times.
JCAC demanded that JSO create crisis teams of trained mental health professionals for de-escalation.
When asked about the JCAC demands, JSO told News4JAX on Thursday that the initial responding officer to this incident is with its Behavioral Crises Response Unit, in which the officers are paired with a licensed private mental health clinician for intervention.
“The officer involved shooting involving Mr. Gillis continues to be an active investigation - as such, we will refrain from commenting any further on the case at this time,” JSO also said in the statement.
JSO said the State Attorney’s Office will independently review the officer-involved shooting to determine if Bumgarner’s actions were legal. Once that investigation is complete, JSO will conduct an internal review to ensure the officer acted within policy.
After that, a Response to Resistance Board will convene, and the findings will be submitted to the Sheriff for final review.