This officer-involved-shooting resulted in the death of 71-year-old Lawrence Sullivan. Sullivan had a criminal history including multiple arrests and convictions for Driving Under the Influence. At the time of this incident, his license was revoked.

Around 6 p.m. on July 19th, officers responded to a crash on Beach Boulevard at the intersection of the I-295 Northbound ramp. Sullivan had ran the red light and hit another vehicle, driven by a mother transporting her two children in the backseat. Nobody was seriously hurt in the crash, but both vehicles were majorly damaged. Sullivan gave a two thumbs up gesture to the mother immediately after the crash; then, he exited the vehicle with his gun. He told rescue personnel at the scene he wanted to shoot himself.

Sullivan walked to a construction trailer near the crash site and sat down with his gun in his hand. Officers Slatowski and Officer Hernandez, a member of the JSO Crisis Negotiation Team, approached Sullivan to build rapport so the suicidal Sullivan could be peacefully taken into custody. During this extended negotiation, a bicyclist entered the restricted police activity area. Sullivan stood up and began walking toward a crowd of people, still armed with his gun. Officers Hernandez and Slatowski fired their rifles, hitting Sullivan. Rescue personnel transported Sullivan to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The State Attorney’s Office will independently review the incident to assess the legality of the officers’ actions. Once that is complete, JSO will conduct an internal review to ensure the officers acted within policy. Then, a Response to Resistance Board will convene, and the findings will be submitted to the Sheriff for final review. JSO is releasing this in the interest of transparency. Conclusions on the incident remain pending.

*Viewer discretion is advised: the videos are graphic.* This video contains discussions of true crime events that may be disturbing to some viewers. It is intended for mature audiences and for educational purposes only. Viewer discretion is advised. The content is presented in a storytelling style and does not promote violence or harm.

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Information, as it becomes available regarding this Officer-Involved Shooting, will be posted on JSO's Transparency page at: https://opendata.jaxsheriff.org/OIS. 


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