JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office is investigating a police shooting that shut down Lem Turner Road for more than five hours Thursday.
Chief Tom Hackney says three SWAT team officers were taking a break from training and were traveling south on Lem Turner when they witnessed a truck run a car into the woods.
"Instead of passing the car, the truck rammed into it and pushed it off the road. Then the truck flipped and also went into the woods."
The officers stopped to help, and a woman in the car told them the man in the truck was her ex-husband and she believed he was trying to kill her.
A fourth SWAT member, who is also a medic, then appeared on scene and together the officers attempted to free the man who was trapped inside the truck.
Officer Jared Reston armed himself with a rifle and watched over the other three.
"At first, the man was compliant," said Hackney. "He engaged in conversation with the officers and he was fully aware of who they were."
Soon, however, Hackney says Reston spotted a gun within inches of the man's head.
"He gives him instructions: 'don't touch the gun, follow my command, keep your hands where they are."
Moments later, Hackney says the man reached for the gun so Reston fired multiple times, killing the man.
This is the fourth shooting Officer Reston has been involved in during his 10-year tenure with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
The man's name was not released, but Hackney says he was married to the woman for 30 years and has been arrested for domestic violence against her. She has a domestic violence injunction against him.
Hackney is expected to release additional information about Reston and the victim at a news conference Friday morning.
