Officer fires on suspect at Westside trailer park

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office fired his weapon at a suspect Wednesday evening at the Four Seasons Mobile Home Park on Jacksonville's Westside.

No one was injured, according to police.

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Officers Jim Ottinger and Tim Haire responded to the trailer park, located at 7600 Old Plank Road, at 5:22 p.m. Wednesday because of an armed domestic disturbance.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office booking photo of Cody Fortney

According to JSO Chief Chris Butler, as the officers arrived, they heard the suspect, Cody Fortney (pictured), yell three times, "I have a gun."

A woman, who was later identified as Fortney's grandmother, ran out of the trailer screaming, and at the same time Fortney, 22, emerged from the door and pointed a "dark object" at the officers, Butler said.

Ottinger was afraid and fired his gun once toward Fortney, who retreated back into the trailer and refused to surrender, Butler said. The bullet hit the trailer about 8-10 feet from the ground.

More officers arrived and evacuated the nearby residents. They were able to talk Fortney down and he surrendered by climbing out of a window after about an hour, Butler said.

Fortney, who Butler said was intoxicated during the incident, is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer. Officers were searching the mobile home for the "dark object" Fortney pointed at the officers.

This was Ottinger's first officer-involved shooting. He has been with JSO 19 years. Haire has been with JSO 16 years.


About the Author:

A Jacksonville native and proud University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 after spending nine years at The Florida Times-Union.