Bodycam: Man Pulls Gun on Fla. Sheriff's Officers after Confrontation with Girl's Mom

By Olivia Lloyd

Source The Charlotte Observer

A mom went to Popeyes to confront an 18-year-old texting her 13-year-old daughter, an encounter that ended in a police shooting, Florida authorities said.

The night before, the mom learned that someone was engaging in an “inappropriate text relationship” with her child, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said in a Nov. 11 news conference.

She took the phone and started texting the person, later revealed to be 18-year-old Cerry Banks, and arranged a meetup with him the next morning at a Popeyes restaurant.

Banks thought he was still taking to the daughter, Chief of Investigations Alan Parker said. But the mom was planning to confront the man, and she brought her daughter and 11-year-old son to the restaurant on Nov. 11, police said.

During the meetup outside the Popeye’s, the 18-year-old showed them a gun tucked into his waistband and said, “When you hear the shots tonight, you know what’s up,” according to police.

The mom went inside and called the police, and they responded about 30 minutes later, police said. At that point, Banks was still outside the restaurant, Parker said.

The officer approached Banks, then he took off running, police said. Banks is accused of pulling out the gun as the officer ordered him to drop it, then the officer fired at Banks, according to police.

Banks dropped the gun and kept running while injured from being shot, and the officer lost sight of him, Parker said. Eventually, additional units found him hiding in a drainage culvert, and he received medical assistance for multiple gunshot wounds at the scene before being taken to a hospital, according to police.

Jail records show Banks has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, lewd and lascivious conduct by an offender over 18 against a victim less than 16, unlawful use of a two-way communication device and traveling to meet after using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child.

Sheriff T.K. Waters asked parents to notify law enforcement if they suspect their child is the victim of a crime but said he doesn’t blame the mom for the confrontation.

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