JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. \u2013 The attorney hired by the family of a child who was tackled off his e-bike at a Jacksonville Beach skate park by an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office called the officer\u2019s actions \u201cunprovoked\u201d and \u201cegregious\u201d in a statement sent to News4JAX. <\/p>\n
In the statement, Shannon Schott of Plata Schott Law also said that the office has called on the State Attorney\u2019s Office to consider charging Stephen Hicks with felony child abuse for his actions, and will pursue \u201call avenues of justice for this child.\u201d <\/p>\n
The full statement can be read below. <\/p>\n
Today, the family of the child brutally attacked by Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office officer, Stephen D. Hicks, retained Plata Schott Law to help them seek justice on behalf of their son.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After reviewing the facts of this case and Officer Hicks\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Officer Hicks\u2019s 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\u2019s Law.\u00a0We are shocked that Officer Hicks\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
If Officer Hicks\u2019s\u00a0actions 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\u00a0guilt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Shannon Schott, Plata Schott <\/p>\n
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: JSO officer charged with battery after witnesses say he threw teen off e-bike at Jacksonville Beach skate park<\/a> | Off-duty JSO officer faces backlash over video that showed him slamming kid on the ground at skate park<\/a> | Video shows off-duty JSO officer slam teen to ground at Jax Beach skate park; witnesses describe what led up to incident<\/a><\/p>\n Last week Monday, JSO said Hicks was accused by a teenager and multiple witnesses of grabbing the teen off an e-bike and throwing him to the ground at South Beach Skate Park in Jacksonville Beach. <\/p>\n The incident was reported on Saturday, and Hicks, who had left the park by the time officers arrived, turned himself in to the JSO Integrity Unit. He was charged with misdemeanor battery.<\/p>\n One day after News4JAX learned of the accusations, we obtained surveillance video that appears to show Hicks slamming the child to the ground. While it\u2019s still unclear whether the incident was sparked by the child riding a bike in an area with signs stating \u2018no bikes in the skate park,\u2019 individuals at the park who spoke with News4JAX said they disagreed with the officer\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n However, Hicks\u2019s attorney Phil Vogelsang said that his client\u2019s actions were done out of fear that someone in the skate park would be seriously injured when he saw teenagers riding \u201celectric motorcycles\u201d through the park. <\/p>\n Witnesses also told News4JAX that a group of riders were refusing to leave the park, which prohibits e-bikes, and were taunting skateboarders who raised safety concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cI think if individuals knew you had a police officer there on scene and this kid seriously injured himself or seriously injured another child \u2014 and after numerous people had asked them to stop \u2014 I think the public would question why nothing was done to prevent an accident,\u201d Vogelsang said.<\/p>\n