ORANGE PARK, Fla. — The Orange Park Police Department is investigating after one one of their officers was involved in a dispute in a Publix parking lot, according to a release sent out Tuesday.
Officer Jordan Fuentes was off-duty when someone called the police on him, suspecting he was driving drunk.
When police arrived, he was "stumbling" through the parking lot, according to an incident report.
"Multiple" witnesses told police that Fuentes was causing a public disturbance in the shopping plaza, the report says.
While the officer on scene ran Fuentes' credentials, a man walked up and punched him twice -- described in the report as "left hook followed by right hook."
The man who punched Fuentes was detained, but the responding officer wrote in his report that the witnesses at the scene were angry that he was detained and Fuentes was not. They told the officer that Fuentes had nearly hit a woman, who was the man's wife. The man was eventually released after Fuentes declined to press charges.
Witnesses also told the officer that when Fuentes got out of the car, seeming "ready to fight," beer cans fell out of his car.
Officers consulted with the DUI unit, but "there was not enough information to proceed with a DUI investigation," the report says. "Although there were multiple 'wheel witnesses' that observed (Fuentes) driving the listed vehicle recklessly in the area and exit the vehicle with signs of intoxication, lack of physical possession of the vehicle keys and the fact that the incident was not observed by a Law Enforcement Officer played a part in a decision to release Fuentes) at the scene."
The arresting officer drove Fuentes to his father's home in Orange Park.
In a statement released Tuesday, OPPD says the department is aware of "the alcohol-related incident involving one of our officers" and investigating "allegations of misconduct." The incident is still being investigated by Internal Affairs.
The full statement is as follows:
"The purpose of this media release is to inform the public that we are aware of the alcohol-related incident involving our officer which recently took place off duty in Jacksonville. Immediately following the incident, our Internal Affairs investigators began conducting an investigation into the allegations of misconduct. Anytime allegations of wrongdoing are made regarding our employees, we make great efforts to ensure these incidents are properly and completely investigated and that appropriate actions are taken based upon those findings. Due to the fact this incident is still actively being investigated by Internal Affairs, we will not be releasing any specific details surrounding the case. Please understand that the Orange Park Police Department remains committed to maintaining the trust of our community, which includes ensuring our staff are held to the highest standards and kept accountable for their actions on or off duty."
