A Florida sheriff's deputy has resigned after opening fire on a handcuffed Black man in the back of a patrol car, having mistaken the sound of an acorn hitting the vehicle for a gunshot. The incident occurred on 12 November in Okaloosa County, and the deputy, Jesse Hernandez, resigned on 4 December.
According to an internal affairs report released by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, Hernandez and other officers were responding to a call from a woman who said her boyfriend had stolen her car and sent threatening messages. The woman told deputies the man had a weapon. Officers detained the man, handcuffed him, and placed him in the back of Hernandez's patrol car.
As Hernandez approached the passenger side door, he heard a popping sound, which he later said he believed was a gunshot and that he had been hit. Body camera footage showed an acorn falling and bouncing off the patrol car's roof just before the shots were fired. Hernandez yelled 'shots fired', fell to the ground, and fired multiple times into the car. Sergeant Beth Roberts, hearing the gunfire, also fired into the vehicle.
The man was not injured and was released without charge. The state attorney's office found no probable cause for criminal charges against Hernandez, but the internal investigation deemed his use of force 'not objectively reasonable'. Roberts' actions were found reasonable, and she was exonerated.
Sheriff Eric Aden said the situation was 'traumatic' for the suspect and that the incident has been incorporated into training. He added that he did not believe Hernandez acted with malice, but 'his response was based off the totality of circumstances surrounding this fear'. Hernandez had been with the agency since January 2022.
