JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With six shootings into moving vehicles in the past two months on First Coast roadways, investigators need all the evidence they can get. That's why some law enforcement officers encourage people to install dashboard cameras.
"I can't stress enough, this is crucial," said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Dylan Bryan.
Bryan says your dashcam video could be the missing piece to the puzzle in a police investigation. This was the case in the spring, when someone's dashcam video helped lead to the arrest of the person suspected of running over two motorcyclists on Beach Boulevard, killing one of them.
"You never know what you can capture and what kind of information you can provide to an investigation," Bryan said. "Documentation for your insurance companies, whatever the case is, these are very, very valuable devices to have."
Out of the six shootings into moving vehicles over the past two months, at least one of them was caught by a dashcam. It was the shooting last week on I-95 in St. Johns County where witnesses described four masked men with AR-15-style rifles.
JSO is calling another shooting a road rage incident. A man was shot in the back over the weekend when someone fired at his car as they both drove on I-295 near St. Johns Town Center.
Mayor Donna Deegan was asked Monday about the violence on Jacksonville roadways.
"We are concerned about gun violence in our community and we're concerned about road rage in particular," she said. "But I don't think we are any more concerned than JSO is and all the people who are patrolling our roads. I know they're working very hard to reduce and eliminate these incidents."
Bryan says when it comes to road rage, do not get involved with someone on the road.
If you get a dashcam, make sure you aren't breaking any laws. You can't obstruct your windshield and in Florida, everyone, like a passenger in a car, must consent if audio is recorded.