The Sheriff’s Office has mental health professionals who respond with officers, but they weren’t involved in this situation.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, SWAT officers shot Thomas Gray, 60,Investigators said they responded after learning he was suicidal and were initially worried his girlfriend was inside the home at the time.“We are all for mental health. We are all for helping people with mental health issues,” Waters said. “But in a situation like that, it is very dangerous to bring a citizen out to face that kind of danger.
“In a situation like that, when it works out where the initial call is, ‘I’m going to kill myself, but if the police come, I’m going to shoot them,’ we have to respond, and then a gunshot goes off, we have to have the appropriate response for that, and it’s not bringing in a citizen. We can’t do it,” Waters said.
Detectives said SWAT operators fired after talking to Gray for more than an hour. He stepped out onto the porch, put the gun down and his hands up, investigators said. Then, the said, he picked it up and started shooting. That’s when SWAT fired back, investigators said.On Friday, police released a photo of the gun they said the man used.“We have negotiators. All of our officers are CIT trained. So they talked for a long while before,” Waters said.
A total of six SWAT officers were involved in the shooting, according to police. Because of that, they’re all on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure for police-involved shootings in Jacksonville.
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