College student says JSO officer told him to take keys out of car or “I’ll blow your head off”

An Edward Waters College student has filed an internal complaint with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office after police pointed a gun at him during a traffic stop. The student was on his way to work after class about 1:30 p.m. Thursday when police said they pulled him over because his grey Crown Victoria matched the description of a car used in a Jacksonville burglary, according to a First Coast News Report. The student told the television station he was not speeding and didn’t know why he was being pulled over. Next thing he knew, officers had drawn their guns and one told him he’d blow his head off if the driver didn’t take the keys out of the ignition, the television station reported. Officers handcuffed the student and held him in the back of a police car for 45 minutes before eventually letting him go. He says police never told him why he was stopped, but First Coast News reported that the information about the burglary was in the police report. The student says the officer popped the trunk of his car and searched without asking permission, but the report says the officer asked for and received consent from the student, the station reported. This is very common when someone is pulled over in Jacksonville. As a Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney, many clients tell me they never gave the police permission to search their vehicle. As a matter of fact, most were never even asked.

A police spokesperson told First Coast News it is routine for police to have guns drawn and to handcuff a suspect when making a traffic stop involving a felony in Duval County. In this case, the student was not charged with a crime. Time will tell if the sheriff’s office brass have problems with the way it was handled.

Every detail counts in an encounter with police. Did they have permission to search a vehicle? What was the probable cause to stop the vehicle? Was a person detained longer than they should have been while police waited on a dog to sniff around the car? Our Jacksonville criminal defense lawyer, Victoria “Tori” Mussallem, knows exactly what to look for in police reports and what questions to ask in depositions to ferret out problems with a Jacksonville arrest. Cases can be dropped or thrown out on one false move and, if it’s there in the case of you or your loved one, our criminal defense attorney will find it.

If you need a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm, P.A. at (904) 365-5200 for a free consultation. Our Duval County Criminal Attorney is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to discuss your criminal matter.