DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — An undercover drug operation in Jacksonville ended with damage to a neighborhood, an officer in the hospital, a suspect dead and another on the loose.
Residents in the area said the chase for the suspect who rammed an officer Thursday night went through the Mayfair Village Apartments and sent adults and children running for cover.
Several cars were smashed in, broken pieces on the ground, and a light pole was knocked over during the undercover operation. A Camry in the parking lot had the front left axle bent in and the front tire is completely flat. One vehicle, a Lincoln, appeared to have the worst damage.
The complex residents told Action News this is the second time in six months that police have been chasing a suspect through there and damaged cars.
"It was just no regards for anybody's property, anybody's children or anything," said Tiwana Kirkland, neighbor. "It was just a whole mess out here yesterday. It was horrible."
"When I walked out the door, I walked into this," said Rickey McAfee, who bought the car at the end of last year. "I see it totaled."
The vehicle helps him get his wife and three children around town. Now, he'll have to come up with a different plan.
"We can't even get in on that side," McAfee said. "I'm not going to be able to drive it. My wife isn't going to be able to drive it, nobody is going to be able to drive it because it's not drivable."
Kirkland said she's hoping police will pay for the damages, but at this point she's still waiting to hear more about what will be done.
"It's going to be OK. Nobody got hurt, and that's the main thing, nobody got hurt," said McAfee. "This is just material that can be replaced."
WJAX
