Police body cam video: Florida cop fired after she shot man with his own gun during routine traffic stop

Newly-released body cam video shows the moment when a Jacksonville police officer shot a Florida man during a routine traffic stop. The cop was charged and reportedly terminated after the accidental shooting.

On Dec. 13, 2024, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police officer S. Lowry conducted a routine traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Jason Arrington. The officer accused Arrington of driving through a red light, and Arrington disagreed.

‘Holy s**t!’

Body cam video shows Arrington being compliant during the traffic stop and informing Officer Lowry that he was armed with a gun.

“So what we’re gonna do is — just for my safety and your safety — I’m gonna have you step out of the vehicle,” the officer instructs Arrington. “And we’re just gonna remove the pistol from you.”

The officer continued, “Then we’re gonna run your license and make sure everything is good, and then I’m gonna send you on your way.”

Officer Lowry informs two other officers at the scene that the driver is “very compliant” and “he does have a pistol on him.”

Police body cam video shows Arrington exiting the vehicle and then placing his hands on the roof of his truck.

Officer Mindy Cardwell is seen on police body cam video attempting to extract the gun holstered in Arrington’s waistband.

“She tugged on the gun the first time, then she tugged again,” Arrington explained before adding, “I don’t know, she might have got nervous or whatever, and she pulled harder two more times, and that’s when it discharged.”

Suddenly, a gunshot is heard in the video, and Arrington is seen slumping down in pain.

Lowry can be heard screaming, “Holy s**t!”

‘Gun owners in this state should be able to carry their firearms without the fear of an officer pulling them over on the side of the road, then voluntarily disclosing they’re carrying a firearm, then being shot with their own weapon.’

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, “While Officer Cardwell was attempting to remove the firearm, it discharged, striking Mr. Arrington in the leg.”

The bullet hit Arrington in the upper thigh and went through his right side.

Body cam video shows Officer Caldwell’s finger on the trigger of Arrington’s handgun as she removes it from his waistband.

Within seconds, blood is seen flowing down Arrington’s leg, and he needs assistance from an officer to walk. Officer A. Weippert applies a tourniquet to Arrington’s leg, and Arrington is seen grimacing in pain. The officer then cuts the pants off Arrington’s leg to locate the gunshot wound.

Following the police shooting, Officer Lowry is heard whispering to himself: “Goddamn.”

Lowry also is heard telling dispatch that the police shooting was a “negligent discharge.”

In a late-December press conference, Arrington announced that he planned to sue over the officer-involved shooting.

“It messed with me as far as me working and stuff,” Arrington said. “Certain things in my job I can’t do no more, perform, like getting up on equipment and stuff, you know, different things.”

“I have to get on top of trains and unload stuff, forklift, crane, whatever I have to do at my job. It’s kind of hard for me to do it. I can do it, but it’s challenging, like real bad,” Arrington stated.

Arrington’s attorney — Kay Harper Williams — stated, “Gun owners in this state should be able to carry their firearms without the fear of an officer pulling them over on the side of the road, then voluntarily disclosing they’re carrying a firearm, then being shot with their own weapon.”

Williams said she believes Officer Caldwell “was not properly trained” and “certainly did not follow proper protocol.”

Weeks after the incident, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released a memo spotlighting how police should conduct stops involving a citizen legally carrying a concealed firearm.

“The burden of proving an individual is not eligible to carry a concealed firearm falls on the investigating officer and is not an automatic presumption,” the memo reads. “Unless an officer has articulable suspicion that the detained person presents a threat to the safety of citizens or officers or has knowledge that the detained person is ineligible to carry a concealed firearm, officers should not seize a firearm (i.e. remove it from holster, vehicle, pocket, bag, etc.) from someone lawfully carrying it.”

Internal Affairs launched an investigation, and Cardwell was hit with a sustained charge of incompetence.

CBS News on Wednesday reported that Caldwell had been fired.

A week after the traffic stop, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office dismissed the traffic citation against Arrington.

You can watch police body cam footage from all three of the officers involved in the shooting incident at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s official Facebook page, but it should be noted that the video is graphic.

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