JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One man was killed, another shot and a third arrested after an undercover investigation of an armed robbery of a cellphone on Monday ended with shots fired by Jacksonville officers on Tuesday evening.
A woman told News4Jax that her 20-year-old, Reginal Boston, died in the gunfire at the Hampton Ridge Apartments on Harts Road on the Northside. Another man was shot and a third person was taken into custody.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Chief of Investigations T.K. Waters said officers working undercover made contact with three suspects, one of whom pulled a firearm.
“Officers gave loud, verbal commands for them to drop the gun. They refused to drop that gun. At that point ... officers fired their service weapon several times.”
Waters said two men were hit by gunfire, and one of them died at the scene. A second man was taken to a hospital with critical injuries. all three were described as being in their late teens or early 20s.
Boston’s mother, Yvonno Kemp, is understandably devastated after learning he was killed in a police-involved shooting overnight, but the police version of what happened doesn’t add up to her. She tells us her son worked two jobs and had a 10-month-old son. She said he was a rapper and didn’t cause any trouble.
“I knew that something happened to my baby. I knew that. I felt it in my stomach,” Kemp said. “He was not a thug. I’m not gonna sit down on my hands. I’m not just gonna sit down and cry. I’m gonna put action to it and I want everybody in Duval County to know that.”
None of the officers were injured but all three were placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure after officer-involved shootings.
News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson said JSO will do a full and fair investigation.
“They investigate these cases like they do any other cases. They work their way backward. They get testimony and information from the officers, the witnesses,” Jefferson said.
According to Waters, Officer R.W. Crotty has been with the Sheriff’s Office for over 13 years and this was his third officer-involved shooting. The second officer, A.D. Hinton, has been with the Sheriff’s Office for over six years, and it was his first officer-involved shooting. The third officer, C.T. Cowan, has been with the Sheriff’s Office for over four years. It was his first officer-involved shooting.
This was the second deadly officer-involved shooting of the year.