Police officers make traffic stops every day.
They usually go off without a hitch.
But a Florida cop was fired after making one awful mistake on a traffic stop.
Female Florida cop gets canned for accidentally shooting a man with his own gun
A routine traffic stop in Jacksonville, Florida turned into a nightmare for Jason Arrington after he was pulled over for running a red light.
He informed Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officers Mindy Cardwell, Shaun Lowry, and Austin Weippert that he was legally carrying a handgun as required under Florida law.
Arrington, who was called cooperative by the officers, followed their instructions to step out of the vehicle.
Cardwell tried to remove the Glock 45 he was carrying in the waistbands of his pants.
“She tugged on the gun the first time, and then she tugged again, and that’s when I told her, ‘Hey, let me just unloosen my belt because it’s tight,’” Arrington said at a press conference.
Cardwell kept trying to pull the gun out of his pants and accidentally caused it to discharge.
Arrington dropped to the ground after she shot him in the leg.
“When Officer Cardwell was finally able to remove the firearm from the holster, she unintentionally placed multiple fingers inside the trigger guard of the firearm, causing the firearm to discharge,” the incident report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office stated.
That resulted in Cardwell getting placed on suspension and investigated.
She claimed that Arrington’s holster “would not come off” off his waistband.
🚨NEW: Florida female cop is being fired for accidentally shooting a man with his own gun during a traffic stop
Officer Mindy Cardwell assisted with a traffic stop on December 13 after Jason Arrington, 39, was pulled over for running a red light
Cardwell tried to remove the gun… pic.twitter.com/S66WoIJmb6
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) January 22, 2025
Police bodycam footage of the incident shows Lowery blurting out “holy s***” after the gun went off.
Weipert asked Arrington if he was ok and ordered Cardwell to put down the gun.
The officers are shown applying first aid while they wait for paramedics to arrive on the scene.
Female cop accused of incompetence in accidental shooting
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs investigated the shooting and determined that Cardwell was guilty of “incompetence.”
She is facing termination proceedings after the shooting.
Arrington said that the gunshot wound made it harder for him to do his job as an equipment operator.
“It messed with me as far as me working and stuff,” Arrington said. “Certain things in my job I can’t do no more, perform, like getting up on equipment and stuff, different things. I have to get on top of trains and unload stuff, forklift, crane, whatever I have to do at my job. It’s kind of hard for me to do it. I can do it, but it’s challenging, like real bad.”
Arrington’s attorney Kay Harper Williams said that legal action was being taken against the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for violating her client’s civil rights.
Williams noted that Arrington cooperated throughout the traffic stop.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office changed its policy on handling firearms during traffic stops after the incident.
A memo stated that someone carrying a concealed weapon does not automatically make them a threat and that officers should not remove a detained person’s firearm unless they have “articulable suspicion” that the person is a threat.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.