The incident resulted in the death of 62-year-old Jose Cabrera, a convicted felon. Had he survived his injuries, he would have been arrested for Aggravated Domestic Assault and Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer.

On Thursday, February 12, officers responded to a home on Dunn Avenue in response to an armed domestic disturbance. Cabrera’s wife reported an intoxicated Cabrera held her down while armed with a knife, threatening to kill her and himself. The victim pushed Cabrera away, and he got into his vehicle and drove away. The victim provided the officers with a description of Cabrera’s vehicle and his phone number. She also told officers Cabrera could be on his way to Fox Tail Lane.

An officer called Cabrera. He answered and told the officer the police would have to kill him before he returned to prison.

Just after midnight on February 13, Officers Rhoden, Griffis, and Morris arrived to Fox Tail Lane and saw Cabrera’s vehicle parked in a driveway and Cabrera sitting in the driver’s seat. The three officers approached the vehicle, and Officer Griffis saw a knife within Cabrera’s reach. Officer Griffis attempted to speak with Cabrera, who immediately armed himself with the knife and exited the vehicle.

All three officers commanded Cabrera to drop the knife. Rather than comply with the officers’ orders, Cabrera moved aggressively towards the officers and yelled “Come on, shoot me!” with the knife in his hand. The three officers simultaneously fired their JSO-assigned handguns, striking Cabrera. Officers handcuffed Cabrera and provided emergency medical aid until Rescue arrived. Cabrera was taken 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. JSO will then conduct an internal review to ensure the officers acted within policy. Conclusions remain pending.


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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.