Exclusive cell phone video shows a Jacksonville Sheriff's officer standing over a suspected gang member and telling him to take a deep breath after he was shot twice by police.
That man, 24-year-old Keith Crowder, is in critical condition.
Police say they found a loaded handgun in his car, but it remains unclear what caused the JSO officer to open fire.
Action News Jax obtained cell phone video that a witness recorded minutes after a JSO officer shot a man Thursday night. The video shows a man lying on the ground with a JSO officer standing over him.
We spoke to one witness who claims she saw the shooting while she was sitting in front of her house.
“He had his hands up and went to turn. I looked and said, ‘Officer, don’t, you’re going to shoot him, don’t shoot him,’” she said.
Police say Officer Serge Paul shot 24-year old Keith Crowder during a traffic stop. They say Crowder is a known gang member and they found a gun in his car.
“The fact that he’s a gang member, although we don’t agree with anything gangs do, had no bearing on the shooting,” said Action News Jax Crime and Safety Expert Ken Jefferson.
Police say “something happened” that led the officer to shoot, but Crime and Safety Expert Ken Jefferson says, a body camera would have cleared that up.
“Even though it doesn’t give you an all-around view, it gives you a view. That body camera, while it’s on can trace and track, and video tape the officer’s actions leading up to an incident,” said Jefferson.
An incident one witness says should have never happened.
“I begged that officer, I looked in his eyes, I felt it, I seen it, I said ‘please don’t shoot him, please don’t shoot him.’ He did it.”
JSO said if everything goes as plan, they will have a pilot body camera program by the Summer of 2017.
Keith Crowder
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