WTH? Cop Imagines Gunfire…Imagines Being Shot…Shoots At Cruiser With Handcuffed Suspect In Back Seat

Okaloosa County, Florida — On November 12, 2023, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Deputies had responded to McLaren Circle around 8:42 a.m. in reference to an initial call of a vehicle driving around honking its horn and disrupting the peace since 3:00 a.m. A second call for service came in from a woman stating her boyfriend, 22-year-old Marquis Jackson, had committed grand theft auto, a felony offense, and had been calling and texting her threats. The victim provided text messages she said had been taken from inside her vehicle showing what appeared to be a firearm suppressor pointing at the dash of the victim’s vehicle. Jackson showed up at the scene around 9:09 a.m. and was detained, searched, handcuffed, and placed in the rear of Deputy Jesse Hernandez’s patrol vehicle while the investigation continued, and the victim completed the affidavit for the stolen vehicle.

The victim told deputies Jackson had a silencer and she was not sure where it was and that also he had more than one weapon. As Deputy Hernandez was returning with a Victim’s Rights form for the caller, other deputies found the victim’s vehicle at 1656 Hunt Club Street. Deputy Hernandez was approaching the passenger side rear door of his patrol car to do a secondary search of Jackson when he heard a pop sound which he perceived to be a gunshot and believed he had been hit. He began yelling “shots fired” multiple times, falling to the ground and rolling. He fired into the patrol car. After witnessing Deputy Hernandez’s response and reaction, Sergeant Beth Roberts responded with gunshots toward the car as well in response to the perceived threat. Jackson escaped injury and no weapon was located. Deputy Hernandez has been with the OCSO since January 2022.

Sergeant Roberts has been with the OCSO since May 2008. Both were current on resistance training and firearms qualifications. Deputy Hernandez resigned on December 4, 2023, during the investigation but was ultimately found to have violated policy. The deputies were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. Jackson wasn’t injured, and no weapon was located, the OCSO said. After investigation, the sound was determined to have been made by an acorn hitting the roof of the car.