JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — New details were released by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) Thursday into the police pursuit which led to an officer-involved shooting two weeks ago.
On May 21, Charles Curtis Guernsey, 45, was shot by an officer following a road rage incident and pursuit across Jacksonville, police said.
On Thursday, JSO Chief of Professional Standards Mike Shell said in a video posted to the agency's Facebook, that the pursuit stretched over 40 miles, with Guernsey reaching speeds over 100 mph.
"During the pursuit, Guernsey accelerated to 110 mph, drove at high rates of speed for extended periods of time, turned off his headlights to conceal his vehicle, drove into oncoming traffic lanes with no regard for other drivers, and forced other drivers off the roadway in order to avoid a collision with Guernsey's truck," Shell said in the video. "The route includes parts of downtown, Arlington, the Northside and Westside [of Jacksonville]."
Shell further stated that the chase "covered over four police service districts."
Shell said that at 12:51 a.m. on the day of the incident, before the pursuit began, a man flagged down officers near Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and Interstate 95 to report being involved in a road rage incident.
"The victim told officers that he had been driving behind Guernsey's truck when Guernsey began repeatedly braking," Shell said. "When the victim pulled up next to Guernsey's truck at a traffic light, Guernsey threatened to shoot the victim and pointed a black and silver handgun at him."
In an audio recording in JSO's video, the victim told police the confrontation with Guernsey happened near Moncrief Plaza on Moncrief Road.
Shell said the pursuit after Guernsey started when officers tried to pull him over.
JSO Chief Alan Parker told First Coast News right after the incident happened, that police lights weren't turned on yet when Guernsey "took off" in a pickup truck. Florida Highway Patrol troopers took control of the pursuit when it transitioned onto Interstate 295, according to the sheriff's office.
JSO said stop sticks were successfully deployed on Guernsey's vehicle on I-295 South near Commonwealth Avenue. As a result, Guernsey's truck tires began to deflate, with one of them "breaking apart entirely, leaving only the rim," Shell said, as he "continued to flee even after the loss of the truck tire."
Officer Stephen Hicks successfully completed a PIT maneuver on Guernsey's vehicle on West Beaver Street, immobilizing it in front of a gas station.
Guernsey then fled the vehicle on foot, JSO said, as bodycam video shows Hicks fire multiple shots through his windshield and side window, striking Guernsey. It appears in the video Guernsey is getting out of his truck and has his back to Hicks when Hicks fires.
First Coast News asked First Coast News Crime and Safety Expert Mark Baughman what that could mean for the investigations into Hicks's actions.
“[It] makes it a little more come into question," Baughman said. "But at the same time, I've been involved in shootings where people have been shot from behind, but they're carrying a gun and they're still not giving up the gun and they're running towards people, a playground, a public area and they still pose that threat.”
After being struck and while being arrested, Guernsey told officers: "That [expletive] tried to run me off the road."
Parker told First Coast News Guernsey was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after the incident. A gun was not found in the vehicle he was driving, Shell said in the video.
"If he has a gun, there’s legitimacy to the complaint. If he doesn’t have a gun, now you need to go back to that complainant and see if he lied to police and if they wanted to file a false report," said First Coast News Crime and Safety Expert Ken Jefferson.
This incident marks JSO's second officer-involved shooting in 2024.
"The State Attorney's Office will decide whether the officer's actions were lawful," Shell said. "After the conclusion of the criminal investigation by the State Attorney's Office, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office will begin an administrative investigation into the officer's actions to determine if they were within agency policy."
Shell also said in the video that at the time of Guernsey's arrest, he had an active warrant out of Baker County for aggravated battery; his arrest history prior to the incident includes "multiple felony arrests" for crimes such as aggravated assault, burglary, resisting arrest and drug possession, according to Shell.
"We're still at the very early stages of the investigation," Shell concluded. "Our understanding of this incident may change as additional evidence is collected and reviewed."
"We do not draw any conclusions regarding whether the officer acted appropriately with respect to the law, or JSO policy, until all the facts are known and the investigation is completed."