(Updated 10:30 am Oct. 26, 2021, to correctly attribute quote.)

Wearing nothing but jeans, the University Police Department (UPD) received a call about a suspicious person trying to enter campus. Described as looking physically distressed, UPD Sgt. Carey intercepted the man near the parking lot by the J.M. Golden Environmental Education Pavilion.

UPD reported that the man ignored all attempts of Sgt. Carey asking what he was doing. Met with silence, Sgt. Carey moved his vehicle to block the man from entering campus. 

With no luck, the man continued to journey towards campus so Sgt. Carey resorted to physically trying to keep him from campus. Immediately, the suspect “tensed up, balled his fists, and bladed his body in a fighting stance,” according to the report. 

The two officers that responded to the call had to take action and force the suspect to the ground to keep the incident from escalating further. A third officer arrived on the scene and the suspect continued to try and fight off all three officers. After some struggle, the suspect was stunned and handcuffed. 

The suspect continued to refuse to identify himself and officers had to transport him to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO). When the suspect arrived at the jail he continued refusing to identify himself.

Eventually, after the suspect was booked, the jail was able to identify him. Sgt. Carey stated in his report that the suspect was either “intoxicated or [had] some kind of a mental problem” because the suspect was wide-eyed with a blank stare and did not respond to any communication Sgt. Carey attempted. 

Due to these factors, it was assumed by UPD that the suspect could be a threat to students on campus or a threat to himself. Sgt. Carey took action in the best way he saw fit because he did not want to have to try to detain the suspect anywhere else other than the grassy area where the suspect was originally intercepted. The suspect was not injured.

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