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The Department of Justice is monitoring the case of Le'Keian Woods, a 24-year-old Black man beaten by Jacksonville officers during an arrest.
In a video released by civil rights attorney Harry Daniels, officers appeared to pile on Woods, who was facing chest down on the grass beside a car. One officer appeared to slam Woods' head into the ground. A handcuffed Woods appeared to struggle to sit and stand up on his own, video shows.
An arrest report states that one officer hit Woods five times in the face and once in the ribs during the incident. Another officer kneed him four times in the ribs and face, according to the report. Wood's face was left bloodied and his eyes swollen.
Woods' attorney sent a letter to the DOJ earlier this month, requesting that they take a look at his arrest. According to News 4 Jax, the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ responded last week, saying they are monitoring the incident and will take action if they find it to be a prosecutable federal criminal civil rights offense.
“Sheriff Waters and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office may not take this kind of brazen and unapologetic violence seriously. But the DOJ sure does,” Daniels said in a statement. “Some of the stories we’ve heard are downright terrifying and it’s encouraging to know that now the JSO’s victims have somewhere to turn for justice.”
Woods was initially a passenger in a truck that was pulled over by police on suspicion of a drug deal. The 24-year-old allegedly attempted to flee the scene, running through an apartment complex. Officers caught Woods on foot and tased him twice before he fell face-first on the ground. Police claimed Woods attempted to "violently resist" arrest, prompting an officer to hit him.
Woods is facing charges including armed traffic of methamphetamine, armed traffic of cocaine, armed possession of a controlled substance, resisting an officer with violence, and violation of probation, according to online records.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office denied reports that the DOJ was monitoring the situation.
"Any characterization that the Department of Justice is actively monitoring the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is categorically and unequivocally false. The JSO is not being monitored, investigated, or examined by the DOJ. As our agency has previously articulated, we welcome the DOJ inquiry regarding the JSO officers’ conduct during the arrest of Mr. Woods, as we are confident that federal investigators will arrive at our same conclusion that the involved officers acted within administrative policy," the office said in a statement.
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