Pastor doubling down, holds news conference calling out Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A well-known local pastor is doubling down on his claim that there is police brutality in the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Pastor R.L. Gundy held another news conference today -- his second this week, calling out JSO.

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Sheriff T.K. Waters says the pastor is generating mistrust in the police.

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“This process is not anti-police, it’s not anti-sheriff,” R.L. Gundy said. “We’re just trying to get the culture changed in Jacksonville, because there’s a lot going on.”

Pastor R.L. Gundy and Pastor Randy Sewell held a news conference today at Solid Rock Missionary Baptist Church to highlight what they claim is a “police brutality” case.

Jakarj Sewell took a video on January 20th capturing the moment when a JSO officer pulled him over for a traffic stop and busted out his window. A JSO incident report says this happened on I-10 eastbound at the off-ramp to Lane Avenue South.

The officer in the JSO report said he pulled Sewell over for an expired license tag and noticed “the odor of fresh marijuana.” It said there was also an active warrant our for the passenger of the vehicle.

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Sewell claimed the officer never fully explained why he was getting arrested.

The JSO report says the officer admitted to not fully explaining his reasons, but said quote, “I knew from training and experience that I was in a dangerous position on the shoulder of a busy interstate at night, I detected the odor of narcotics from within the vehicle and one of the occupants was a fugitive.”

Action News Jax Law And Safety Expert Dale Carson has decades of law enforcement experience and says the expired tag and smell of weed is enough probable cause to make an arrest.

“And when officers making arrest, he has a right to search the area around the individual, particularly into the car,” Carson said.

Sewell said he found himself with a bloody nose, a messed-up shoulder, and bruised ribs during the arrest.

“He kicked me twice while I was in handcuffs,” Sewell said.

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The report says the officer “found a plastic baggie of white powder and a marijuana blunt in the center console. And the “white powder tested positive for fentanyl.”

Sewell said he didn’t know he had that in the car, and claims the officer is lying.

Gundy says the focus isn’t on what was found, but how the officers handled the situation.

“I don’t know whether he had anything or not, because sometimes they put stuff on people,” Gundy said. “However, even if that was a reality, what does that have to do with breaking his nose, breaking his shoulder and beating him down and busting his ribs up.”

Earlier this week, Sheriff T.K. Waters denied Pastor Gundy’s claims from a different case.

“He is driven by his personal agenda,” Sheriff Waters said on Wednesday. “He’s spewed a series of falsehoods to undermine the trust in the police, which we’ve been working very hard to restore.”

The report said Sewell was charged with possessing weed, resisting officer without violence, having an expired temporary tag, and having fentanyl on him.

Sewell says he hasn’t filed a complaint yet, but he is in the process of doing so.

JSO tells Action News Jax this incident is under administrative review, and JSO cannot comment at this time.

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