Jacksonville officer’s gun firing was ‘unintentional’ in July shooting that killed man, SAO finds
The State Attorney’s Office said Monday it has finished the review of the death of a man who was fatally shot in July by a Jacksonville police officer.
A letter from Assistant State Attorney Mark Caliel to Chief Paul Restivo of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office states that the “independent review of the death investigation of Bobby Brown has determined Mr. Brown’s death was the result of an unintentional firearm discharge by the shooting officer.”
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Caliel also noted in the letter that “the discharge of the firearm was not criminal.”
On July 30, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it responded to the 2300 block of Grunthal Street in Northwest Jacksonville, where witnesses told them there was an “individual high on drugs, armed with knives and knocking and banging on doors in the area,” JSO said.
RELATED: JSO: Suspect ‘high on drugs, armed with knives’ killed in officer-involved shooting
That individual was later identified as 41-year-old Bobby Hames Brown.
Police said on the day of the shooting that Brown eventually made it to a relative’s house, was allowed in and made threats to harm himself and people in the house.
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He had hidden drugs and paraphernalia in the house and then locked himself in the bathroom, police said.
Officers got everyone in the house out safely, but Brown locked himself in a bathroom. After 45 to 60 minutes, he came out still holding the knives. Officers then used a Taser stun gun on him.
“And also, an officer fired a single gunshot,” a JSO detective said.
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The officer who fired the shot was placed on administrative leave during the investigation.
Body-worn camera footage of the shooting exists, and Caliel said in the letter that its release would not compromise the investigation. However, Brown’s next of kin, his mother, said she did not want the footage publicly released.
“Additionally, the incident occurred inside a private residence making the footage confidential and exempt pursuant to public records law,” Caliel wrote. Read the full letter below.
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BWC Letter - Bobby Brown by ActionNewsJax on Scribd
