A woman who lives in Grand Park said she planned to bring up the video at a community watch meeting on Tuesday.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A slap during a routine traffic stop has some community members in the Grand Park area speaking out against the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
A video of that traffic stop surfaced on social media and appears to show a JSO officer slap a man while restraining him.
A woman who lives near where it happened said she planned to bring the video up at a community watch meeting Tuesday night to hear what the zone chief had to say about it.
“There’s no reason to slap the taste out of someone’s mouth like that,” said Joe Bacon.
Bacon didn’t see the traffic stop that happened in front of her house in Grand Park Friday night, but she heard about it after the fact.
“I did see the video yesterday,” said Bacon. “It was kind of shocking.”
READ MORE: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office ‘reviewing’ incident after video shows officer slap man during arrest
Bacon said her neighbors have been talking about the slap, adding they planned to bring it up as a topic at a community watch meeting with JSO Tuesday night.
According to an arrest report, 29-year-old Dwon Ellis was pulled over for rolling two stop signs in Bacon’s neighborhood.
The arresting officer discovered Ellis’s license was suspended and said he could smell marijuana in the car.
While searching Ellis, the officer says he resisted by repeatedly turning his body, tensing his arms and pulling away.
The arrest report does not mention the slap.
“He may be moving around a little bit, which is not uncommon, but if he’s handcuffed, you don’t strike him,” said First Coast News Crime and Safety Analyst Ken Jefferson. “You don’t strike him. He can’t hurt you.”
Jefferson says a slap isn’t unheard of when someone is resisting arrest, but it all depends on the timing and situation.
“If they’re trying to restrain him and he’s actively resisting, a slap may be what’s needed to get him in handcuffs, but once you get the handcuffs on him, the fight is over,” said Jefferson.
Bacon says the best way she can think of to address the video is by talking about it.
“We need to have more conversations with the police and training.”
Bacon planned to start that conversation at a community watch meeting at Edward Waters University Tuesday night.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released the following statement regarding the arrest:
We are currently reviewing the incident and circumstances that unfolded during the arrest.
JSO said there is body cam video of the arrest, however, it isn’t available because it is part of an “active criminal investigation.”
