A police department in Florida is moving to fire an officer after she accidentally shot a man with his own gun during a routine traffic stop last month.
Officer Mindy Cardwell was called to assist with a traffic stop on Dec. 13 along with another cop after Jason Arrington, 39, had been pulled over by an officer for running a red light, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.
Arrington was fully cooperating with all three officers, the body camera footage showed. He had informed the cop who originally pulled him over that he did have a gun holstered in his waistband.
After he had exited his car, Cardwell went to remove his firearm, but while she was trying to take the gun, it discharged and Arrington was shot in his upper thigh.
It is unclear if the gun had its safety on or off before Cardwell tried to grab it.
One of the officers told Cardwell to drop the pistol as they helped Arrington hobble over to sit on the side of the road. Blood was already soaking through his pants as the cops started addressing his gunshot wounds.
The bullet had gone through his upper thigh and exited at his inner leg, causing an alarming arterial bleed that officers were able to stupor with a tourniquet.
Arrington was transported to a nearby hospital following the accident and is expected to make a full recovery, but filed a lawsuit against the JSO. He is specifically citing his lasting injuries which he says have impeded his ability to work as a crane operator.
An investigation by Internal Affairs found that Cardwell had been incompetent and moved to terminate her.