{"id":108247,"date":"2026-01-06T23:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T23:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/108247\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T23:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T23:06:14","slug":"what-domestic-violence-survivors-need-to-know-about-calling-the-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/108247\/","title":{"rendered":"What domestic violence survivors need to know about calling the police"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A deadly officer-involved shooting Monday night was the first recorded homicide of 2026 in Jacksonville, and like several deadly Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office-involved shootings last year, it began as a response to a domestic dispute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of the 17 shootings in 2025 involving JSO officers, 11 were deadly. <\/p>\n

According to News4JAX records, at least three of those deadly shootings began as domestic violence or disturbance calls, like the one Monday night that started as an argument between a husband and wife at the Luxor Club Apartments on Egrets Nest Drive around 8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

RELATED: 2 separate police-involved shootings Monday in Jacksonville leave one man dead, one injured<\/a><\/p>\n

When officers arrived, they separated the couple to get both sides of the story, and the woman said they were married and that her husband owned two firearms, police said.<\/p>\n

When officers went to approach 35-year-old Daniel Rodriguez, they said he pulled a firearm from his waistband, leading the JSO officers to fire at him. Despite efforts to render aid, Rodriguez died at the scene, JSO said.<\/p>\n

Per protocol, the shooting will be investigated by the State Attorney\u2019s Office, which will determine whether the deadly force was justified.<\/p>\n

Several incidents last year seemed to follow similar patterns when officers were called to intervene in domestic violence disputes.<\/p>\n

In one incident, three officers ended up fatally shooting a 28-year-old who JSO said was waving a gun<\/a> while \u201cholding his girlfriend against her will\u201d when the police were called.<\/p>\n

In another 2025 incident, a 37-year-old man was involved in a violent altercation<\/a> with his girlfriend and became aggressive toward responding officers, who eventually shot him in the chaotic encounter.<\/p>\n

A third incident in 2025 began as a report of a 26-year-old man in a mental health crisis<\/a> who police said pulled out a pregnant woman\u2019s hair during an attack before he was hit with Tasers and then fatally shot.<\/p>\n

Warning signs <\/p>\n

Experts say that before a situation gets to a breaking point, there are warning signs that you might be in a dangerous relationship.<\/p>\n

Erin Whitaker-Houck, the associate vice president of Clinical Program operations at LSF Health Systems, said that at its core, domestic violence is about power and control.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it often starts with control, fear, and intimidation. It\u2019s often not physical right away, in the beginning,\u201d Whitaker-Houck said. \u201cEarly warning signs might be things like feeling like you have to walk on eggshells around your partner, having a partner who constantly checks your phone, your location, your finances. Verbal abuse is often an early warning sign. Somebody whose name-calling, humiliation.\u201d<\/p>\n

LSF Health Systems is a Jacksonville company focused on providing mental health resources across Florida. <\/p>\n

Calling police<\/p>\n

Whitaker-Houck said in domestic violence situations, it\u2019s critical to remove yourself from immediate danger by remaining calm and keeping your voice low to lower the temperature in the room. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you see that that\u2019s starting to occur, this may look like physically moving to another room, right? Avoid sensitive topics that in those moments of anger, when things are already heated, now is not the time,\u201d Whitaker-Houck said.<\/p>\n

She said if you feel like you must call law enforcement for help, make sure you\u2019re in a safe place. Also, understand that dispatchers are trained to stay on the line and observe, even though you might not be able to tell them everything at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you call 9-1-1, try to speak clearly and state what\u2019s happening in the moment. And if you can\u2019t talk, stay on the line. Dispatchers are trained to listen for clues. They know that these situations come up, and you can\u2019t always communicate. So they\u2019re trained for that. They\u2019re trained to listen to what\u2019s going on,\u201d Whitaker-Houck said.<\/p>\n

Experts say if you do get the operator on the line and it\u2019s safe, be as specific and concrete as possible about the situation. For instance, say \u201che\u2019s threatening me\u201d rather than \u201cwe\u2019re arguing,\u201d and if weapons are involved, identify where the weapons are located in relation to you and the other person.<\/p>\n

Resources<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know believes you are in a dangerous relationship, free, confidential support is available 24\/7 through Hubbard House\u2019s Hotline at 904-354-3114 and Text line at 904-210-3698.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a list of other resources available:<\/p>\n

The Florida Domestic Violence Hotline, which will direct you to the nearest shelter, is 1-800-500-1119. <\/p>\n

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is open 24 hours a day. The number is 1-800-799-SAFE.<\/p>\n

The Micah\u2019s Place<\/a> (Nassau County) Domestic Violence Help Hotline is 904-225-9979. <\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A deadly officer-involved shooting Monday night was the first recorded homicide of 2026 in Jacksonville,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117,1872,22079],"class_list":{"0":"post-108247","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-jacksonville","9":"tag-jacksonville-headlines","10":"tag-jacksonville-news","11":"tag-jso","12":"tag-ois"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}