Bodycam video of police arresting Le’Keian Woods, 24, is being released as the sheriff’s office says the use of force was justified during the brutal arrest, in which officers struck him 17 times and hit his head on the ground while he was handcuffed
Shocking bodycam footage provides new footage of the arrest of 24-year-old Le’Keian Woods, who was hit 17 times and hit with his head on the ground while being handcuffed last week.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released an arrest report and the footage after a clip shared by a bystander of Woods being violently thrown to the ground sparked outrage, protests and comparisons to the murder of Emmett Till.
Sharing six and a half minutes of bodycam footage and an arrest report, the sheriff said officers “acted appropriately with respect to the law and policy.”
The new clip shows how a car is first stopped while armed and the driver is arrested. In a second part, we see Woods fleeing the scene before being tasered twice and handcuffed by four responding officers.
The suspect’s family claims he was stopped for not wearing a seat belt. In a briefing on Monday, Chief of Professional Standards Mike Shell added that Woods was arrested after officers “saw him (witness) a drug transaction.”
The 24-year-old was taken to hospital with a concussion after being admitted to prison with swollen eyes, cuts and bruises to his face and a severely split lip.
Community members protested for justice outside JSO headquarters after a viral video on social media showed the bloody arrest of 24-year-old Le’Keian Woods.
Bodycam footage showed Woods running on September 29 as officers tried to detain him
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released an arrest report and images of an officer chasing Woods as he tried to flee
Woods was shot twice with a DEW before falling to the ground, where he was arrested
Le’Keian Woods is charged with trafficking methamphetamine and cocaine while armed and resisting arrest with violence
Woods’ mother compared the violence to the infamous lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till, whose battered remains sparked the civil rights movement when they were displayed in an open casket at his funeral in Mississippi in 1955.
“When I looked at that picture of my son, I felt like Emmett Till’s mother when she saw her son, and he was unrecognizable,” Natassia Woods told reporters. “That’s what it felt like when I saw my son.”
Police arrested her son on charges including armed trafficking in methamphetamine and cocaine and resisting an officer with violence.
They insisted that the police bodycam footage would add context to the video and photos when released.
a report said Detective J. Garriga was stationed in a gas station parking lot when he saw the driver of a gray Dodge Durango parked at a gas pump.
Shortly afterwards, a gray Dodge Ram arrived with three people inside.
Garriga saw Woods get out of the Ram and talk to the driver of the Durango before getting into the backseat and counting money.
The report added that Garriga noticed the driver of the Ram was not wearing a seatbelt when he began to reverse out of the parking lot.
The officers followed the car in their unmarked vehicles. When the Ram didn’t stop, they cornered him in the dead-end driveway of an apartment complex, according to the report.
New bodycam footage shows an officer stopping a car and calling on the driver to show his hands during the traffic stop on September 29.
The officer assesses the possible dangers and asks who else is in the car, before asking the driver if he is armed.
He seems to be saying, ‘Since you don’t have a gun, you stay where you are. Okay? Don’t move… Keep your hands up. Thanks for telling me.’
The driver is then asked to get out of the car and walk towards the officers with his hands raised. He obeys, his hands are placed behind his back and he is handcuffed.
The suspect is walked to another vehicle while the second officer continues to point his gun at the car.
Meanwhile, Woods had fled from the passenger seat through the apartment complex, according to the arrest report. Officer H. Sullivan gave chase and followed Woods through a park.
When the suspect refused to stop, the officer fired his conducted energy weapon twice.
The report alleged that Sullivan resisted when the officer tried to take him into custody.
It took three detectives and a police officer to handcuff him.
Woods was struck 17 times by responding officers during his arrest, the report said.
Video shared on social media showed Woods on the ground surrounded by several JSO officers as they handcuffed him — before police released bodycam footage
The footage showed Woods lying on the ground before four officers tried to handcuff him
During the arrest on September 29, the suspect was hit 17 times, according to bodycam footage
The 24-year-old was later taken to hospital for treatment for his concussion
The first images shared on social media sparked angry protests in the city and calls for the closure of the police station’s gang unit.
Jacksonville Jaguars players, coaches and staff were among those who marched from their stadium to the steps of the sheriff’s office to protest police brutality three years ago, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Criminal defense attorney Dale Carson said the video shows police continuing to attack Woods after he was restrained.
“If he’s properly handcuffed, it’s over,” the former FBI agent told Action News Jax.
“The fight has to be over, the resistance has to be over, and if you continue to force compliance by actually hurting the individual to ensure compliance by punching the ground or something like that, that’s not in the training manual. ‘