Jackson wrote in a lengthy Facebook post that the incident left him “damaged for life,” despite him miraculously not being struck by the officers’ gunfire.
He said he was “scared to death,” and that he leaned over and played dead “to prevent getting shot in the head.”
“Mentally, I’m not OK,” he said. “I haven’t been the same since and I don’t think this feeling I have will ever change.”
Once the officers stopped firing, Jackson said they forced him to show his hands, but he couldn’t raise them as ordered because he was still in handcuffs on allegations he’d stolen his girlfriend’s car. While doing this, he said he was staring down the barrel of an officer’s gun, so he closed his eyes and prayed he’d survive the ordeal.
“I eventually found a way to rest my cuffed hands on the shattered window area to show that I wasn’t armed. A few minutes later they swarmed the car and slammed me on the ground to search me,” he said. “The image I can’t get out of my head is seeing how bad my mom was hurt/crying right before I got into the ambulance.”
The number of (incorrect) assumptions the officer made is pretty astounding. No attempt to identify the source of gunfire -- it must be coming from the handcuffed suspect.
I also find it fascinating how he felt tingling on one side and fell as if he had been shot. It makes me think of the several instances of police who have experienced, to the point of hospitalization, symptoms from fentanyl "exposure," which is not actually a thing.
Unfortunately many times when this sort of thing happens the officer is able to find another job at a different police department. Especially since he quit and was not fired.
According to this article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5yneb/man-shot-at-by-cops-w... Jackson was not injured but has been suffering mental effects. We also see there that the Sheriff is defending Herandez saying that while his actions weren't justified "we do believe he felt his life was in immediate peril and his response was based off the totality of circumstances surrounding this fear."
> During the course of the investigation into the shooting, deputy Herandez resigned from the force.
But it's still quite concerning that he ever had a gun and a badge to begin with.
Also, they never mention whether Mr. Jackson - handcuffed in the back of the car - was hit or not. Here's hoping he's alright.