The FBI joined Flagler County Sheriff’s investigators today at the Daytona North property of a sheriff’s deputy at the center of a shooting that injured an 11-year-old boy on a neighboring property the evening of Aug. 27.
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy Bryan “Scotty” Jackson and his daughter Kailen, a new recruit with the agency, were target-shooting in the backyard of Jackson’s property at the corner of Mahogany Boulevard and Elder Street. They were using an AR-15 that Kailen had just received from the agency when a bullet Jackson says he fired traveled halfway up the block to the property at 1288 Hazelnut Street and struck the boy, who was in his room. The bullet grazed the boy’s neck, burning him. The bullet was traced to the AR-15. (See: “Rifle Bullet From Flagler County Sheriff’s Deputies’ Target-Shooting in Mondex Strikes 11-Year-Old Boy.”)
The presence of the FBI today suggests the investigation, already elaborate in the days immediately following the shooting (when sheriff’s detectives swarmed over the property and its surroundings), reflects the seriousness of the case, and appears to be living up to the sheriff’s pledge at the time that he would not spare any resource or hesitate to call on other agencies to get at the facts of the case. The FBI has means and methods to investigate certain cases that may not be readily at a local agency’s disposal.
“This investigation continues to be ongoing,” Sheriff’s Chief Mark Strobridge said late this afternoon, when asked about today’s developments. A reporter had seen a cluster of law enforcement still at the property a little after 2 p.m., with several unmarked cars parked along Elder Street, along the deputy’s property, with a couple of emergency cones set out.
“Sheriff Staly in the beginning of this investigation directed that no stone be unturned as we find the truth and the complete circumstances surrounding this incident,” Strobridge continued. “We will continue to use all resources that are available to us until we get to the truth. At the conclusion of the criminal investigation, we’ll conduct our internal review.”
The Sheriff’s Office’s internal affairs investigations always follow any criminal inquiry, if there is one. There is no timeline, Strobridge said. “It takes as long as it takes.”
Meanwhile both Jacksons remain on the force in their regular duties–Bryan in the Community Engagement division, which does not entail road patrol, and Kailen as a road patrol trainee, since her training is not over. That lasts six to eight weeks. She would have been in the earlier part of her training when she got the rifle, and around the time of the incident.
Recruits who come out of the academy go through an in-house academy at the Sheriff’s Office, designed to prepare them for every aspect of the job, from weapons qualifications to use of force policies to report-writing. Recruits then spend several weeks with various patrol training officers. Weapon certification is among the required milestones. “I can’t say with any great certainty” whether Kailen Jackson had met that milestone yet, Strobridge said. “It should have been already completed.”
Strobridge was asked several questions about the nature and breadth of the investigation but either did not have the information that would answer the questions or would not answer them since, either way, the investigation is ongoing, and such questions wouldn’t be answered at this stage regardless. Asked for instance, whether anything was seized at the property today, he said “that type of information at this point would not be releasable.”
It is more likely that the FBI was called in to reconstruct the shooting, as that has been a puzzling question from day one: how can an AR-15 bullet cross a half block of trees and scrub and penetrate the neighboring house. It is also an indication of the power of the rifle. The position of the berm Jackson built in the backyard is in the northeast corner of the property, so the shooting would be taking place in a generally northerly or slight northeasterly direction, depending on where the shooter is positioned.
Earlier today, law enforcement personnel was in the woods, analyzing the scene, as anyone driving down Elder Street or passing by Mahogany might have noticed.
“I don’t know who all the players were at the property today and all the resources that were involved,” he said. He wasn’t there himself. “I know that if there were people out there working, it’s just a continuation of the investigation.”
Strobridge repeatedly said that every resource is being used, and that the sheriff doesn’t want to be any room for doubt with the findings “on what actually happened on that scene.”
Anonimus says
Isn’t this the same officer that hid his son’s car after a fatal hit and run accident on US1? As before, this investigation will just show who is above the laws and who gets protected again. Let’s see if Staly will actually go against one of his officers in a matter that should never have happened as I believe it was against the law to be shooting out there with the weapons that they had.