JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4Jax I-TEAM on Wednesday night obtained the concise personnel file for a Jacksonville sheriff's officer seen in a viral video confronting a 21-year-old man who crossed a street without waiting for a walk signal.
Officer J.S. Bolen has been disciplined twice since joining the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in 2008, according to his personnel file.
The records show Bolen received a written reprimand for failing to conform to work standards in 2010.
He was also accused of failing to obey an order then, but he was cleared of that after an investigation.
According to the records, Bolen was charged for a traffic accident in 2014. Four months later, he was reprimanded internally by JSO for the crash. Bolen received informal counseling and remedial training.
Bolen is currently assigned to the patrol division.
1 of 2 charges in crosswalk confrontation dropped
The 21-year-old man confronted by Bolen after crossing a street without waiting for a walk signal won a small legal victory, but is still facing a jaywalking charge.
In the video, Bolen told 21-year-old Devonte Shipman he could be taken to jail for "disobeying a direct order" after being stopping while crossing a street without waiting for a walk signal.
Bolen ticketed Shipman for a jaywalking violation and for not carrying his driver's license and exhibiting it on demand, citing a statute that applies to drivers, not walkers. Together the two citations would have cost him $198.
Court records indicate the driver's license charge was voided and a notation on the ticket reads “Issued in error.”
Shipman said he was crossing the intersection of Arlington and Lillian roads last month when the officer stopped him and his friend.
"I guess the red hand was up, but I didn't see cars. As we grew up in school being taught, 'Look left and right and then we can cross.' So that's what I did," Shipman told News4Jax.
Shipman said he recorded the encounter. In the video, viewed more than 500,000 times, the officer threatens to arrest Shipman for resisting when he questions the stop.
"Just from everything that's been going on nowadays with police and civilians, I wanted to make sure I was recorded," Shipman said. "There's no telling what he would've done if I wasn't recording."
Jacksonville civil rights groups have condemned the citations, suggesting Shipman was the victim of racial profiling.
"This type of policing destroys trust in communities of color," the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida tweeted, calling for "diversity and community policing training" in Jacksonville law enforcement.
Responding to a question about the charge dropped, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Melissa Bujeda said the driver's license citation was voided because the wrong statute number was used.
Bujeda had previously responded to calls about the videotaped confrontation saying the department is "aware of this video and an administrative review is being conducted."
Shipman has an Aug. 16 court date and has vowed to fight the ticket.