Marquis Jackson Shooting: Lawsuit, Injuries, and Discipline

The Marquis Jackson acorn shooting lawsuit is a federal civil rights case filed in September 2024 by a Fort Walton Beach man who was handcuffed in the back of an Okaloosa County patrol car on November 12, 2023, when two sheriff’s deputies fired 22 rounds at the vehicle after one of them mistook the sound of a falling acorn for a suppressed gunshot. Jackson, then 24, was not hit by any of the bullets. He survived by leaning over and playing dead, and he was released without charges hours later.¹

What Happened on McLaren Circle

Deputies had responded to a call from Jackson’s girlfriend, Celestiana Lopez, who said Jackson refused to return her car and had sent threatening text messages. One message included a photo appearing to show a firearm suppressor pointed at the dashboard of the vehicle.² When Jackson arrived, deputies patted him down, handcuffed him, and placed him in the caged backseat of Deputy Jesse Hernandez’s Dodge Durango.¹

Hernandez then walked back toward the passenger-side rear door to retrieve a Victims’ Rights brochure. An acorn fell from a tree and struck the roof of the patrol car. Body-worn camera footage shows that roughly 1.1 seconds later, Hernandez shouted “Shots fired!” He told investigators he felt an impact on his upper right torso, his legs buckled, and he fell to the ground yelling “I’m hit! I’m hit!” while firing six rounds from his Sig Sauer P320 at his own patrol vehicle. His slide locked back, meaning the pistol was empty.²

Sergeant Beth Roberts, with the agency since 2008, ran toward the sound, drew her own Sig P320, and also fired at the vehicle. Her final shot came about 12.3 seconds into the bodycam sequence. Between them, the two officers fired 22 rounds.²³ No weapon was recovered from Jackson or the car.

Jackson’s Injuries and Release

Jackson was taken by ambulance to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center for evaluation while still handcuffed, then held in a cell at the Okaloosa County Courthouse for several hours and released. No criminal charges were filed against him.¹

Though physically unharmed, Jackson has described lasting psychological damage. “I was blessed not to get hit by any bullets or get hurt physically but mentally, I’m not okay,” he said. “I haven’t been the same since, and I don’t think this feeling I have will ever change. I truly believe I’m damaged for life.”¹

Investigations and Discipline

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office opened both a criminal and an internal administrative investigation. The criminal review, supplemented by an independent look from the First Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, found no probable cause to charge either deputy.⁴

Internally, the outcomes split. The Office of Professional Standards found Hernandez’s use of force was “not objectively reasonable” and sustained a policy violation for “excessive use of control to resistance.”⁴ Hernandez had already resigned on December 4, 2023, while the investigation was open.² Sheriff Eric Aden later said the findings would have supported termination.³ Sergeant Roberts was exonerated. Investigators concluded her decision to fire was “objectively reasonable” because she relied on Hernandez’s shouts of “Shots fired!” and “I’m hit!” and believed he was under attack.¹

Shown the bodycam footage of the acorn striking the roof, Hernandez acknowledged it was “possible” that was the sound he interpreted as gunfire, though he said he was confident in his perception at the time.² Sheriff Aden, releasing the findings on February 9, 2024, said the agency had “no reason to think former Deputy Hernandez acted with any malice” but that his actions were “not warranted.”⁴

The Federal Lawsuit

On September 11, 2024, Jackson filed suit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The case is captioned Jackson v. Okaloosa County et al., Case No. 3:24-cv-00429-TKW-ZCB.⁵ He is represented by civil rights attorney DeWitt Lacy of Burris Nisenbaum Curry & Lacy.⁶

The complaint names eleven defendants: the County of Okaloosa, the Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Aden, Hernandez, Roberts, Sergeant Pierre Batiste, and Deputies Jerald Rheinhardt, Trent Zellars, Robert Wagner, and Javier Reyna, along with 50 unnamed “Doe” defendants.⁵

The claims are brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and include:

Excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment
Failure to intervene by other officers on scene
Conspiracy to violate civil rights
Municipal liability under Monell, alleging unconstitutional policies, customs, and a failure to train
Supervisory liability

The complaint also raises state tort claims under the Florida Tort Claims Act. One notable allegation concerns what happened after the initial gunfire stopped: at Sergeant Batiste’s order, Deputies Rheinhardt and Zellars allegedly fired less-lethal bean bag munitions at the patrol car’s windows to breach them so Jackson could be extracted.⁵

Sheriff Aden said the office is “fully committed to defending ourselves in this matter” and expressed disappointment with the filing, noting that two investigations had already been completed.⁷ No public reporting in the available record indicates a settlement, summary judgment ruling, or trial date.

Points in Dispute

Jackson’s legal team and the Sheriff’s Office differ on some of the numbers and characterizations. Attorney Lacy has said 32 rounds were fired at the patrol vehicle; the sheriff’s investigation confirmed 22.⁸ The Sheriff’s Office has also disputed any suggestion that rifles were used against Jackson, saying deputies used long guns loaded only with bean bag rounds to breach the vehicle’s windows for the extraction after the shooting had ended.⁷

1
NBC News. Video Shows Florida Deputy Repeatedly Shoot at Man After Mistaking Falling Acorn for Gunshot
2
Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. IA 2023-031 Final Report – Jackson
3
MyPanhandle. Victim Shot at 22 Times Files Lawsuit After Okaloosa County Deputy Mistakes Acorn Falling for Gunshots
4
Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Eric Aden on Officer Involved Shooting
5
WEAR-TV. Jackson v. Okaloosa County Complaint
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WJHG. Lawsuit Filed in Acorn Shooting Incident
7
MyPanhandle. Okaloosa Co. Sheriff Disappointed by Lawsuit About Lethal Use Against Handcuffed Suspect
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Fox 10. Attorney for Victim Fired Upon in Okaloosa County Patrol SUV Announces Lawsuit