One of the officers involved in the viral arrest of a 24-year-old Black man in Florida is also linked to the 2019 shooting of a FAMU student.
A video of the Sept. 29 bloody detainment of Le’Keian Wood has ignited backlash for how the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officers handled the situation. In the footage captured by a bystander, Woods’ face was extremely swollen — which is also evident in his mugshot obtained by local news.
“His face is f***ed up,” the bystander said in the video.
According to an incident report viewed by First Coast News, Woods was hit 17 times. He was reportedly arrested on charges including resisting an officer with violence, armed drug trafficking, and possessing a controlled substance. The officers involved were identified as Detective Beau P. Daingle, Detective Hunter Sullivan, Detective T. McCullough, and Detective Josue Garriga, according to the report.
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Woods’ attorney pointed out that Garriga was connected to a similar incident, more specifically, the death of Jamee Johnson, the outlet reported. The 22-year-old was killed after being shot multiple times by Garriga during a traffic stop in December 2019. Per local news, the state DA’s office determined that his actions were justified. First Coast News reported that he also participated in a group chat writing biased, race-related text messages about Johnson.
According to First Coast News, the initial message in the gang unit group chat comes from Sgt. Doug Howell, who shares a news article about an NFL ceremony honoring the FAMU student. Howell accompanies the link with an emoji showing closed eyes and a flat mouth.
Garriga reacts with a facepalm emoji and questions the recognition, asking, “Why are they honoring that clown?”
Bolen responds with a touch of sarcasm, saying, “I suppose it would have been more acceptable if Sway (Garriga’s nickname) had been shot or met a tragic fate. It’s truly unbelievable.”
Bolen replies, “If sway (Garriga’s nickname) would have been shot or drug to death I guess that would have been better, unreal.”
“They are so far outside of reality,” Howell writes. “Ignorance in its purest form.”
“Goes to show no matter how wrong they are, they still will be recognized just because they are Black,” Garriga responds, adding an OK emoji.
On Monday, Oct. 2, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s office released an incident briefing and body camera footage outlining their version of the arrest due to “significant public interest.”
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE.
“Based on the currently available information, the agency believes that the involved detectives acted appropriately with respect to the law and JSO policy,” JSO spokesman Mike Shell said. “However, our understanding of his incident may change if additional evidence is collected and reviewed.”
According to Shell, the officers of the JSO gang unit spotted Woods carrying out a drug transaction with a firearm in his front pocket. The official also alleged that Woods is associated with a group with a history of violent crime and drug distribution. He also noted that Woods was previously arrested for murder in 2018.
“Woods pled guilty in 2022 to an amended robbery charge pertaining to that murder arrest and is currently on probation,” he said.
After witnessing what was believed to be a drug transaction at a gas station, Garriga notified his fellow gang unit officers, according to Shell. Officers Diangle and Sullivan — in unmarked cars — followed the truck that Woods was in and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. However, the driver “did not immediately stop” and kept going until they reached a dead end. Due to being aware of the firearm, Diangle and Sullivan approached the truck with their weapons in hand.
Shell said Woods attempted to flee the scene but was chased by Sullivan. Due to not complying, he was shocked with a Taser but continued running. When he was shocked again, he fell to the ground. While the officers tried to arrest him, he resisted, the official added. That’s when other officers, including Garriga, came to try to detain him.
Body camera footage shows Sullivan running after Woods on foot. When he eventually catches Woods, he orders him several times to put his hands behind his back. At this time, his mouth was bleeding from the impact of the fall. Shortly after, other officers at the scene came to assist and struck him multiple times.
Two other people, one with a gang affiliation, were also arrested without incident. When officers searched the car, they found fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and oxycodone, Shell said.
“There was force used by arresting officers and yes, that force is ugly. But the reality is that all force, all violence is ugly,” Sheriff T.K Waters said, per The Associated Press. “But just because force is ugly does not mean it is unlawful or contrary to (agency) policy.”
Woods’ attorney, Harry Daniels, called on the US DOJ to investigate the incident.
