Jacksonville police officers cleared of any wrongdoing in case of mistaken identity
A newly released 196 page report from the internal affairs department for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said all officers were cleared for any wrongdoing in a ‘mistaken identity’ case.
“Can somebody please talk to me,” a woman is heard saying in cell phone video from the April incident.
In April of last year, Jacksonville officers forced their way into Khristi Jackson’s Moncrief apartment, later detaining her in a case of mistaken identity.
Read: JSO officers force entry into woman’s home in mistaken identity case caught on video
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“All we’re trying to do is get this figured out,” a JSO officer is heard saying in the cell phone video.
Officers were investigating reports of gunfire at the Calloway Cove apartments. Witnesses gave officers a physical description, similar to Jackson’s, and police said neighbors directed them to her apartment.
During an interview on June 8, 2023, a detective with the internal affairs unit for JSO spoke with office Donald Bowers, Jordan Fincher, Jerry Rose, and Matthew Zona. All four have been cleared of any wrongdoing. The interviews were released this week.
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“They [the officers] observed a black female [Jackson] with short red hair that fit the description of the suspect who immediately became agitated and irate and was uncooperative with anything we said to her,” Officer Bowers said, recalling the encounter.
Officers were looking for 42-year-old Shalarwn Cooper who also had short red hair and lived at the complex. At the time, officers mistook Jackson for Cooper.
The internal affairs report said Jackson refused to identify herself and was resisting officers.
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“She doesn’t have to identify herself,” Dale Carson said. “The problem is that it was clearly an error, because it’s not the right person.”
Carson is our Action News Jax law and safety expert. He’s a Jacksonville defense attorney who spent decades as a law enforcement officer in Miami and as an FBI agent. He said from Jackson’s perspective she felt harassed by police.
Both Cooper and Jackson lived near each other. Police later determined Cooper was hiding in the back of Jackson’s apartment, according to statements made by Cooper in the internal affairs report. The report said Cooper claimed she was waved into Jackson’s apartment while police were at the scene.
Investigator: Is there anything you would have done differently at that call?
JSO Officer Jordan Fincher: Not that I can think of.
All officers have been cleared of the allegations of improper action. We did go to Jackson’s apartment complex for comment, but we were told it was private property and could not connect with her in person or through the phone.
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