Surveillance video reveals some of what happened before Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies say they were forced to fire at an armed man in Oakland Park.
BSO said this all started just before 6 p.m. Sunday when they received calls of a suspicious person in the area of Oakland Park Boulevard near Northeast 6th Avenue. Callers said the person was waving a knife at drivers and pedestrians and throwing large rocks at passing vehicles.
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WATCH HEREThe video shows the suspect on the sidewalk stepping back with what appears to be a foldable chair in his hands. Two deputies are approaching him from the road when the suspect appears to lunge forward and out of view.
Deputies say the man had a weapon in hand, witnesses say it was a knife.
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“This guy was wielding a knife, the blade was about 6 inches. He was stabbing at the cars going by and he was screaming,” said Andrew Wilkinson. “He saw me in the car on the phone and he started pointing the knife at me.”
The suspect, later identified as 39-year-old Jarcara Mansfield, also yelled at deputies to "kill him," BSO said. He charged at deputies while holding a knife.
“Deputies made several commands for that individual to drop his weapon. However, he refused and multiple less than lethal weapons were deployed in an attempt to subdue that individual,” said Gerdy St. Louis, a BSO spokesperson.
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Cellphone video taken by a witness showed deputies giving the man first aid moments after the shooting.
Paramedics rushed him to Broward Health Medical Center, where he is fighting to survive. He is facing one count of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of resisting arrest with violence.
BSO detectives haven’t said how many deputies fired their weapons, but all deputies involved are on paid administrative leave. That move is typical after a police shooting.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now leading the investigation, which is common policy. BSO’s Internal Affairs Unit is conducting an internal investigation.
