One of the officers involved in the viral arrest of a 24-year-old Black man in Florida is also linked to the 2019 shooting of a FAMU student.
A video of the Sept. 29 bloody detainment of Le’Keian Wood has ignited backlash for how the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officers handled the situation. In the footage captured by a bystander, Woods’ face was extremely swollen — which is also evident in his mugshot obtained by local news.
“His face is f***ed up,” the bystander said in the video.
According to an incident report viewed by First Coast News, Woods was hit 17 times. He was reportedly arrested on charges including resisting an officer with violence, armed drug trafficking, and possessing a controlled substance. The officers involved were identified as Detective Beau P. Daingle, Detective Hunter Sullivan, Detective T. McCullough, and Detective Josue Garriga, according to the report.
Woods’ attorney pointed out that Garriga was connected to a similar incident, more specifically, the death of Jamee Johnson, the outlet reported. The 22-year-old was killed after being shot multiple times by Garriga during a traffic stop in December 2019. Per local news, the state DA’s office determined that his actions were justified. First Coast News reported that he also participated in a group chat writing biased, race-related text messages about Johnson.
According to First Coast News, the initial message in the gang unit group chat comes from Sgt. Doug Howell, who shares a news article about an NFL ceremony honoring the FAMU student. Howell accompanies the link with an emoji showing closed eyes and a flat mouth.
Garriga reacts with a facepalm emoji and questions the recognition, asking, “Why are they honoring that clown?”
Bolen responds with a touch of sarcasm, saying, “I suppose it would have been more acceptable if Sway (Garriga’s nickname) had been shot or met a tragic fate. It’s truly unbelievable.”
