In a tense incident earlier this month, Jacksonville police officers shot and killed a suspect named Michael Jones, with much of the critical action obscured by a fence. This incident has sparked discussions about police conduct and transparency, leading the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to release body camera footage to provide greater clarity.
The footage, part of the Sheriff’s Office’s routine “Critical Incident Briefings,” was made public last Thursday. These briefings are a commitment by the department to maintain transparency following any police-involved shootings. The video offers a closer look at the events surrounding the fatal shooting of 52-year-old Michael Jones on February 10, which occurred in a backyard on Kaleel Road.
According to the sheriff’s office, the incident was linked to an investigation into a stolen car. Just over a week before the shooting, Jacksonville police officers had attempted to pull over a stolen vehicle. However, the driver, later identified as Jones, managed to evade capture. Although the officers decided not to engage in a pursuit, subsequent surveillance footage revealed Jones as the driver and indicated he was armed with a firearm.
This case highlights the challenges and complexities involved in police operations, especially in high-stakes situations where both law enforcement and community safety are at risk. As the investigation unfolds, the release of the body camera footage is a critical step in shedding light on the precise circumstances of this tragic event.
The sheriff’s office says that Jones was the target of a stolen car investigation.
11 days before the shooting, JSO says police attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a stolen vehicle, but the driver fled. JSO did not pursue but later determined from surveillance video that the driver was Jones, and that he was in possession of a gun.
On Feb. 10, JSO says Jones was again located in the stolen vehicle by covert task force officers. Officers in marked cars then began following Jones, who parked in a driveway on Kaleel Road and began running from the officers on foot.
This is where the provided body camera video begins, first from one of the shooting officers, Officer Higgenbotham.
In the video, Officer Higginbotham is seen stopping his car and getting out. As he first begins pursuing Jones, he yells, “Hey, I’m going to shoot you, mother******!”
The video shows Officer Higgenbotham had his gun drawn from the beginning of the foot pursuit, which he uses to shoot three times at an unleashed dog that approaches him. The dog appears to have been missed and runs away from the officer.
Higgenbotham continues to yell for the suspect to get on the ground and threatens to shoot him again, but loses sight of him briefly due to fences around the building. At this point, he groups up with another officer, Sgt. Howell, at a fence that divides them and the suspect.
JSO says Sgt. Howell deployed the taser twice at Jones at this point, to seemingly no effect. Howell then swaps to his gun after reportedly seeing the suspect reach for one.
Due to the fence blocking the body camera, viewers are unable to see if the suspect reached for a weapon. Jones is only seen briefly.
Sgt. Howell yells “hands!” several times before firing four shots over the fence. The officers yell for the suspect to stop reaching for his weapon several times between shots. In total, around 10 total shots can be heard.
As officers approach the downed and bleeding suspect, one officer kicks Jones in the torso to flip him over onto his back before cuffing him. Officers then began attempting to render medical aid. During this time, the suspect does not appear to speak or move.
JSO reports two guns were discovered on the scene — a Glock 43X near Jones and a Raven Arms MP-25 in Jones’ back pocket. As a convicted felon, he is not legally allowed to have a gun.
As with any officer-involved shooting, the State Attorney’s Office will conduct an independent review to determine if the officers acted lawfully. Following the criminal investigation, JSO will do an administrative investigation to make sure all involved officers followed agency policy.
Including the shooting of Jones, JSO has had five officer-involved shootings so far in 2026, three of which were deadly. The Critical Incident Briefing for the most recent one, which resulted in the death of Jose Cabrera, has not yet been released.
In a live interview on First Coast News, Sheriff T.K. Waters acknowledged that there have been more officer-involved shootings than usual this year, and that they’ve been more violent.
“I think it’s important for the public to know and understand that no police officer comes to work wanting to do that. Things have to go really bad for those kinds of things to happen,” Sheriff Waters said. “It’s the incidents where a weapon is produced.”
All five of the shootings so far have involved suspects with either knives or guns.
