JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Civil rights attorney Ben Crump will join the family of a 22-year-old Jacksonville woman on Thursday to demand that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office release video from the Aug. 11 officer-involved shooting in Arlington that left Asia Bennett dead.
Bennett was shot twice by a JSO officer at a home on Westdale Drive near Pine Bluff Drive. She later died at a hospital.
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JSO said officers were called to the home around 10:45 p.m. for a report of a battery with injuries. According to JSO, a man told the first officer who arrived that he had argued with Bennett, his girlfriend, who was inside the home and armed with a knife.
JSO said Bennett came outside carrying several items. Investigators said the officer at the scene ordered her to drop them, but she continued to hold a large kitchen knife and moved toward the officer.
The officer, now identified as 26-year-old Erin Gaitten, fired one shot, according to JSO. The agency said Bennett fell but did not drop the knife and then tried to get up and move toward Gaitten again, prompting a second shot.
Gaitten has been on the force for 3 years.
A backup officer arrived after the shooting and gave Bennett additional commands to drop the knife, JSO said. She eventually did.
Jacksonville Fire and Rescue treated Bennett at the scene before she was taken to a hospital, where she died.
Five other people were inside the home at the time, according to JSO. The boyfriend was treated for minor injuries.
JSO has not released body camera or dash camera footage from the shooting. Crump and Bennett’s family are also calling for the release of 911 calls and dispatch records.
In a previous statement, Crump questioned JSO’s account of the shooting and said the public should not be asked to rely solely on the account of the agency whose officer fired the shots.
“The body-camera footage and the 911 calls can show whether there was any way this ended with Asia alive. Release them,” Crump said.
Bennett’s mother, Crissy Duncan, told News4JAX that her daughter was a domestic violence victim and was not violent or dangerous. Duncan said she believes JSO should have been helping her daughter.
“She is so tiny… she’s the sweetest. You would never hear nothing from Asia,” Duncan said.
The State Attorney’s Office is investigating the shooting. A JSO use-of-force review is expected to follow.
Thursday’s news conference is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at Southside Church of God in Christ in Jacksonville.