Attorney Shannon Schott says Officer Stephen Hicks\u2019 actions were \u201ccompletely unprovoked and unnecessary,\u201d and that the officer should face a felony child abuse charge rather than one for misdemeanor battery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a completely unprovoked and unnecessary attack on a child,\u201d Schott said. \u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Hicks turned himself in to the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office Integrity Unit after the incident and was later released on bond. He has since been reassigned while the case moves forward.<\/p>\n
Schott, who represents the family, said the teen\u2019s parents were \u201cshocked and upset,\u201d 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\u2019s Law and asked the State Attorney\u2019s Office to consider tougher charges.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went from zero to 100,” Schott added. “It\u2019s just completely unacceptable as a human being, as a parent, and as a police officer.”<\/p>\n
This was the full statement Schott’s team sent to First Coast News:<\/p>\n
“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.\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’s Law. We 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 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.<\/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
But Hicks\u2019 attorney, Philip Vogelsang, argues that the officer was acting out of concern for public safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis wasn\u2019t an e-bike, it was a battery-powered motorcycle that can reach about 50 miles an hour,\u201d Vogelsang said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Vogelsang said Hicks, though off duty, felt he had a duty to act.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Hicks was there with his family,\u201d he said. \u201cEven 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\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the video began circulating online, parents who frequent the park have voiced mixed reactions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re fast and you don\u2019t always see them coming,\u201d one parent said about e-bikes at the skate park. \u201cThe force felt excessive, but after being given so many warnings, maybe the kids should\u2019ve just left.\u201d<\/p>\n
The State Attorney\u2019s Office declined to comment on the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHe went from zero to 100,” attorney Shannon Schott said. “It\u2019s just completely unacceptable as a human being,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-136291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136291","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=136291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}