Cop Mistakes Fallen Acorn for Gunshot

Police bodycam footage was released showing a Florida cop opening fire on a suspect after he mistook the sound of an acorn falling on a patrol car for a gunshot.

Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy Jesse Hernandez had just arrested Marquis Jackson last year on suspicion of stealing his girlfriend’s vehicle. Jackson was handcuffed and put in the back of a patrol car. Then, as Deputy Hernandez was walking behind the car, an acorn fell from a tree and landed on the roof of the car, making a popping noise which Hernandez thought was a gunshot coming from inside the car.

Hernandez shouted “Shots fired!” and quickly dropped to the ground. He then fired several rounds into the patrol car. He also claimed to be hit and later said he thought he had been shot in the torso. Amazingly, Jackson was able to duck away from the window and was not struck by any of the bullets. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution but was uninjured. He was later released from custody and no charges were filed. Hernandez, meanwhile, has resigned from the sheriff’s office and has not been charged.