Loads of people feel skittish on the job and can be spooked by the slightest noise, but if you’re that kind of person it’s maybe not a good idea to have a career that lets you loose on the streets with a loaded weapon. Something Florida cops are likely to consider after video emerged this week of a Florida cop firing all the bullets from his gun and running for cover after he was spooked by a falling acorn.
The officer, identified as deputy Jesse Hernandez, emptied the clip on his firearm back in November 2023 while attending to a call at McLaren Circle in Kissimmee, Florida. Hernandez had been attending a call in the area when an acorn fell from an oak tree and struck the roof of his squad car.
In body cam footage shared across social media, the officer was seen jumping to the ground and shouted “shots fired” after the acorn strikes the roof of his car. He then turned and emptied every bullet from his gun, each aimed squarely at his squad car.
While Hernandez fired on the car, Marquis Jackson, who was accused of stealing his girlfriend’s car, was in the back of the police cruiser. Officers had searched, handcuffed and loaded the accused into the back of the police car and, despite being cuffed, it was Jackson that the officer thought was shooting at him.
Believing that Hernandez was under fire from Jackson, sergeant Beth Roberts then also fired her weapon. In interviews after the incident, Roberts claimed she opened fire as she thought “that I was watching him be killed.”
Despite Hernandez’ claim that he thought shots were coming from inside his vehicle, he told an investigation that he didn’t remember seeing the flash of a gun or any glass smashing in the car. What’s more, in his body cam footage you can clearly see the acorn fall into frame and strike the roof of his car. When asked if this was the sound he heard, Hernandez had this to tell investigators:
“I’m not gonna say no, because I mean that’s, but what I, [10 second pause in speaking] what I heard [3 second pause in speaking] sounded almost like [12 second pause in speaking] what I heard sounded what I think would be louder than an acorn hitting the roof of the car, but there’s obviously an acorn hitting the roof of the car.”
After hearing the sound of the acorn, the deputy reported that he also felt a “tingliness” all along the side of his body. He then said his “legs just give out” and he fell to the ground, assuming that he had been seriously injured by something.
Because of this, the video also showed Hernandez complaining about feeling “weird” and shouting to his colleague that he’s been hit. It’s all very dramatic.
The report into the incident found that the sound of an acorn isn’t enough to warrant Hernandez to open fire on a car. During the course of the investigation into the shooting, deputy Herandez resigned from the force.