Jefferson reviewed the video several times and was asked if the officer could have used deadly force in the situation.“Even though there is a crowd of people standing around, yelling and hollering and making all kinds of noise, I only saw one person that was really aggressive with him, so he would not have been justified in using deadly force but he could have used non-lethal force such as his taser,” he said.
Fraternal Order of Police President Steve Zona saw the same video but says he believes the officer used great restraint in not using deadly force and believes deadly force would have been justified.“If he was in a situation where he was in fear of his life because maybe somebody was trying to grab that rifle. You can see that video and you can’t see clearly if they are trying to grab it or whatever, but he may have well be 100% justified in deploying lethal force,” Zona told News4Jax.
Interesting. Two different takes on the situation from law enforcement professionals.QuoteJefferson reviewed the video several times and was asked if the officer could have used deadly force in the situation.“Even though there is a crowd of people standing around, yelling and hollering and making all kinds of noise, I only saw one person that was really aggressive with him, so he would not have been justified in using deadly force but he could have used non-lethal force such as his taser,” he said.QuoteFraternal Order of Police President Steve Zona saw the same video but says he believes the officer used great restraint in not using deadly force and believes deadly force would have been justified.“If he was in a situation where he was in fear of his life because maybe somebody was trying to grab that rifle. You can see that video and you can’t see clearly if they are trying to grab it or whatever, but he may have well be 100% justified in deploying lethal force,” Zona told News4Jax.