Le’Keian Woods: Man whose arrest sparked use of force concerns pleads guilty to resisting an officer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man who had his September arrest captured on video, which went viral and raised concerns about the use of force by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge stemming from that arrest Monday.

The State Attorney’s Office said Le’Keian Woods pleaded guilty to resisting an officer without violence, a first-degree misdemeanor charge.

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Woods was adjudicated guilty, and sentenced to 9 days in the Duval County Jail, which is the time he has already served, the SAO said. Woods must also pay court costs.

Court records show that the state would be dropping the other two charges Woods was still facing -- tampering with evidence, and possession of a controlled substance.

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The SAO released the following statement about Woods’ plea, also touching on the fact that former Jacksonville officer Josue Garriga III, who was involved in Woods’ arrest, is now facing state charges, and a federal charge, connected to alleged sexual activity with a teen:

“By pleading guilty to resisting officers during his lawful arrest and being adjudicated guilty, Le’Keian Woods is held accountable for his actions last September. The defendant offered this plea to the State. It is an appropriate resolution based on the facts of the case and the circumstances giving rise to Officer Garriga’s recent indictment.”

Civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and John Burris, who represent Woods, issued the following statement:

“Today’s plea can be boiled down to two words: Without Violence.

“That means these officers brutally beat Le’Keian Woods in the middle of the street despite the fact that he was unarmed and offered no violence. It means they tased him twice, drove their fists and knees into his head and body again and again and slammed his head into the ground even after he was handcuffed despite the fact that he was unarmed and offered no violence. It means that they left him with a swollen face, a ruptured kidney, a closed head injury and more despite the fact that he was unarmed and offered no violence.”

Background of Le’Keian Woods case

JSO’s police report said officers struck Woods 17 times after he was hit with a taser and fell face-first onto the pavement while running away from an officer trying to arrest him.

After Woods’ arrest, Action News Jax told you in October when national civil rights attorneys called for a federal investigation of JSO.

In November, the U.S. Department of Justice cleared JSO of any federal civil rights violations in its use of force in Woods’ arrest.

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At the end of November, three armed drug trafficking charges that Woods was facing were dropped.

In January, Woods pleaded not guilty to the charges he was still facing.

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