JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The 24-year-old man shot by a Jacksonville police officer last Thursday night in the Moncrief area of Northwest Jacksonville explained his side of the story and what happened leading up to the shooting.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said Officer Serge Paul fired two shots at Keith Crowder, striking him twice, during a traffic stop on West 32nd Street.
Ben Frazier, of the Jacksonville-based news website "The Black Viewpoint," recorded an interview with Crowder shortly before undergoing surgery at the hospital. Frazier is also a member of a local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference -- a group that's put pressure on the Sheriff's Office recently, asking for more transparency after recent officer-involved shootings.
Crowder's bandages were visible in portions of the video.
"My hands, just like this, up the whole time. Even when I got out of the car and I said, 'Don't shoot. Don't shoot. Don't shoot!' Everybody said, 'Don't shoot.' And next thing you know, he shot me, twice, for no reason," Crowder said. "I'm trying to figure out why he was going to shoot me so close up. It went below my heart and an inch from my spine."
Police said that after Crowder was pulled over about 9 p.m. for speeding on West 32nd Street, near Golfair Boulevard, Crowder got out of the vehicle. Paul, who was in uniform, then exited his patrol car and ordered Crowder to get back inside the car, Undersheriff Pat Ivey said.
Ivey said when Crowder did not comply, other commands were given and Crowder still did not comply.
That's when Paul fired his handgun twice and Crowder was hit in the upper body, Ivey said. Crowder was taken to UF Health Jacksonville in life-threatening condition.
Crowder was the only person inside the vehicle, and after obtaining a search warrant, officers found marijuana and a .45-caliber handgun inside the driver's side door on the floorboard.
When stopped last Thursday, Crowder was out of jail on bond on charges of misdemeanor possession of marijuana and possession of a concealed weapon.
According to a Clay County police report, Crowder was pulled over for having a front headlight out, and a bag of marijuana and a loaded handgun were found in the car. Crowder was handcuffed, and then slammed himself into the hood of the cruiser, and yelled, “Help, police brutality,” the report said.
Crowder has three previous arrests in Duval County on charges of misdemeanor possession of marijuana and domestic battery, strong-arm robbery and battery, and violation of probation.