A Florida sheriff fired rounds of ammunition at an unarmed suspect after he mistook an acorn falling from a nearby tree for gunfire.
Deputy Jessy Hernandez threw himself to the ground and pulled out his pistol after he mistakenly believed Marquis Jackson, who had been searched twice for weapons and was handcuffed, had shot at him.
Hernandez, a two-tour veteran of Afghanistan who saw no combat there, shouts “shots fired” in the clip, which was captured on his bodycam.
The officer yells to his colleague, Sergeant Beth Roberts, telling her he is hit and was “shot through the car” as he scrambles for cover by a parked car.
Sgt Roberts then fired at the car, forcing Mr Jackson to play dead to avoid being killed.
In the footage, Hernandez tells Sgt Roberts “I’m good” as a person pleads with the officers but is told to “get back”.
“It might have hit my vest,” he says in the footage, then he retreats to another police unit that arrives at the scene with assault rifles.
Jackson was not hurt in the shooting but says he has been traumatised. He had been detained on suspicion of stealing his girlfriend’s car.
“All I could do was lean over and play dead to prevent getting shot in the head,” he said on Facebook.
“I was scared to death and I knew all I could depend on was God! I ignored everything and prayed!
“Windows were shattering on me the whole time as bullets continued flying across me. I was blessed not to get hit by any bullets or get hurt physically but mentally, I’m not ok.”
Eric Aden, Okaloosa county’s sheriff, said his actions “were ultimately not warranted” but “we do believe he felt his life was in immediate peril”.
Watch the footage in full below:
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