JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is now investigating the officers involved in a viral incident that shows a handcuffed man with swollen eyes and a bloody face sitting on the ground after what appears to be a violent encounter with police.
The video that circulated across social media Friday and garnered local and national attention on social media shows the arrest of Le’Keian Woods, 24, near Toledo Road and Powers Avenue. The video appears to show Woods face down on the ground, surrounded by several officers as they forcefully place him in handcuffs.
The over 5-minute video that sparked outrage online does not show what led up to the incident with the officers.
In a statement Saturday, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said the officers are being investigated to see if the use of force was necessary in this incident.
“Yesterday, JSO officers were involved in an incident near Toledo Road and Powers Avenue in which force was used taking a subject into custody. The agency takes all allegations of inappropriate use of force by JSO officers seriously. As such, this incident is now under administrative review to determine if the involved officers violated any JSO policy. Because the matter is currently under investigation, the agency cannot comment further about the incident until the investigation is completed,” Waters said.
Waters said JSO will release body camera footage as the active investigation continues and investigators learn more concrete answers as to what happened.
According to Wood’s attorney Harry Daniels, the 24-year-old was pulled over for an alleged seat belt violation. JSO has not released a reason for arrest.
Woods, who did not appear in court Saturday because he is still in the hospital, is charged with armed trafficking in Methamphetamine, armed traffic in cocaine, armed possession of a controlled substance, resisting an officer with violence, altering, destroying, concealing or removing records, and possessing a controlled substance without a prescription.
Daniels said in a statement that the video shows Woods was repeatedly assaulted, hit and slammed into the ground after he was handcuffed, calling the incident “unacceptable.”
“If this video of the officers repeatedly assaulting Le’Keian, slamming his head in the ground and tossing him around like a ragdoll while he’s handcuffed and defenseless isn’t enough to convince you that these officers need to be off the street, just look at Le’Keian’s face,” Daniels said. “He looks like he just went 12 rounds with a professional boxer. He’s lucky to be alive.”
The Jacksonville Community Action Committee also released a statement on the incident:
“It is disturbed and outraged over the JSO Gang Unit’s brutalization of 24-year-old Le’Keian Woods. We are demanding all officers involved in this beating are held accountable. We are calling for the immediate disbandment of the failed JSO gang unit. We are demanding the implementation of a public safety committee which would give the community a seat at the table to review public safety policies that impact our community. Our love and solidarity goes out to 24-year-old Le’Keian Woods and his family. We stand ready to assist in any way possible in their pursuit of Justice.”
News4JAX has also requested the arrest and booking report.
Retired JSO Director Tom Hackney said investigations such as this are lengthy.
“It would be assigned to an internal affairs detective for the initial review, and of course, all the information will be pulled. the body-worn cameras, any of the reports that are written, the hospital records,” he explained. “People deserve the right to be treated fairly in their arrest. That excessive force not be used.”
Hackney said there are cases where force is involved but the “facts will come out” in those cases.
“The body-worn cameras will be reviewed. [They] will show a more complete assessment of the incidents that led up to it,” Hackney said.
Waters also addressed the incident at his Saturday morning crime prevention walk.
“I put out a statement this morning indicating that every allegation of misconduct or excessive force is taken very seriously, and we will review those bodycams and eventually you will see those bodycams, start to finish,” he said.
Woods is also charged with two counts of violating probation and there is a hold from Leon County in connection to a 2018 homicide.
He previously faced a second-degree murder charge in an attempted robbery during a drug deal in a Tallahassee apartment complex where his roommate was shot to death.
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