A terrible moment of “incompetence” will likely cost a Florida police officer her job.
Jacksonville officer Mindy Cardwell was assisting a fellow officer after Jason Arrington, 39, was pulled over for allegedly running a red light on December 13.
Arrington had been “cooperative” throughout the traffic stop and had informed the first officer on the scene that he had a firearm in his possession, a statement from the Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office Facebook page said.
Cardwell subsequently attempted to remove the firearm from Arrington’s waist when it discharged, hitting Arrington in the leg, the statement said.
Investigators determined that the shooting was “unintentional” but the Jacksonville Sherriff’s Office followed up with an investigation of its own putting Cardwell’s job on the line.
Officer Lowry, the original officer, had observed damage to the steering column in Arrington’s car “leading him to suspect the vehicle may have been stolen,” the statement continued.
That information and the firearm disclosure prompted Lowry’s order for Arrington to exit the vehicle.
“The firearm was secured in a holster and Officer Cardwell had difficulty removing it,” the sheriff’s statement continued. “When Officer Cardwell was finally able to remove the firearm from the holster, she unintentionally placed multiple fingers inside the trigger guard… causing the firearm to discharge.”
“The Internal Affairs investigation resulted in a sustained charge of incompetence against Officer Cardwell and JSO has begun termination proceedings,” the statement concluded before providing camera footage from all three officers.
“He’s very compliant. He does have a pistol on him,” Lowry can be heard telling his fellow officers in footage of the incident.
Shortly after Arrington stepped out of the vehicle a bang can be heard with an officer, seemingly Lowry, saying “Oh, sh*t. Are you ok?”

Cardwell is then seen assisting Arrington as blood dripped down his leg.
The bullet had pierced Arrington’s upper thigh causing an arterial bleed, The New York Post reported.
Arrington filed a lawsuit against JSO citing injuries he claims interfere with his work as a crane operator, the Post added.
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