“He went from zero to 100,” attorney Shannon Schott said. “It’s just completely unacceptable as a human being, as a parent, and as a police officer.”

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — The family of a teenager seen in a video being slammed to the ground by an off-duty Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officer at Sunshine Park has hired an attorney and is calling for a harsher charge.

Attorney Shannon Schott says Officer Stephen Hicks’ actions were “completely unprovoked and unnecessary,” and that the officer should face a felony child abuse charge rather than one for misdemeanor battery.

“This was a completely unprovoked and unnecessary attack on a child,” Schott said. “Our client was peacefully leaving the property. He was stationary when Officer Hicks body-slammed him and then pulled out his badge to justify his bad actions.”

The incident was caught on video on Jan. 17 at the Jacksonville Beach skate park. The clip shows Hicks confronting a teen on a motorized bike, grabbing him by the shoulder, and taking him to the ground.


Hicks turned himself in to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Integrity Unit after the incident and was later released on bond. He has since been reassigned while the case moves forward.

Schott, who represents the family, said the teen’s parents were “shocked and upset,” believing their son was injured by someone who should have known how to de-escalate situations. She said the family has filed paperwork under Marsy’s Law and asked the State Attorney’s Office to consider tougher charges.

“He went from zero to 100,” Schott added. “It’s just completely unacceptable as a human being, as a parent, and as a police officer.”

This was the full statement Schott’s team sent to First Coast News:

“Today, the family of the child brutally attacked by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officer, Stephen D. Hicks, retained Plata Schott Law to help them seek justice on behalf of their son. 

“After reviewing the facts of this case and Officer Hicks’s history thoroughly, we call upon our elected State Attorney, the Honorable Melissa Nelson, to consider the more appropriate charge of felony Child Abuse in this case.

“Officer Hicks’s actions were wholly unprovoked and egregious. Worse, he attempted to use this position of power as a law enforcement officer to justify his horrendous acts. We will seek all avenues of justice for this child, including representing the family in the prosecution pursuant to Marsy’s Law. We are shocked that Officer Hicks’s attorney would falsely claim that the victim in this case was endangering another child, and we will not be silent in the face of such blatant lies.

“If Officer Hicks’s actions were truly motivated by a desire to protect other children, as his attorney claims, there is no explanation for why he would then flee the scene. That conduct is inconsistent with any claim of lawful or good-faith intervention and instead reflects consciousness of guilt.

“The family would like to express the sincerest thanks to the other children, parents, and bystanders who stepped in to protect their son from Officer Hicks.”

But Hicks’ attorney, Philip Vogelsang, argues that the officer was acting out of concern for public safety.

“This wasn’t an e-bike, it was a battery-powered motorcycle that can reach about 50 miles an hour,” Vogelsang said.

Vogelsang went on to say several parents had already asked the teens to stop riding because they were afraid someone was going to get seriously hurt.

Vogelsang said Hicks, though off duty, felt he had a duty to act.

“Mr. Hicks was there with his family,” he said. “Even off duty, I think the public would expect an officer to step in for the benefit of the community. His actions that day may have prevented a serious injury, maybe even saved a kid’s life.”

Since the video began circulating online, parents who frequent the park have voiced mixed reactions.

“They’re fast and you don’t always see them coming,” one parent said about e-bikes at the skate park. “The force felt excessive, but after being given so many warnings, maybe the kids should’ve just left.”

The State Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the case.