Jacksonville sheriff investigating viral video of man punched, beaten during traffic stop
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(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — An investigation has been opened after a cellphone video that appears to show sheriff’s deputies punching and beating a Black man during a traffic stop went viral on social media, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“We are aware of a video circulating on social media showing a traffic stop represented to be from February 19, 2025,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on Sunday. “We have launched an internal investigation into it and the circumstances surrounding this incident. We hold our officers to the highest standards and are committed to thoroughly determining exactly what occurred.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(MADISONVILLVE, La.) — A Louisiana dad has been arrested for second-degree murder after he allegedly left his 1-year-old daughter in a hot car for over nine hours, authorities said.
The incident unfolded after Joseph Boatman “consumed multiple alcoholic beverages” and then went to pick up his 21-month-old daughter from a relative’s house shortly after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
Boatman, 32, allegedly strapped his daughter into her car seat, went inside the Madisonville home and didn’t return to the car, the sheriff’s office said.
More than nine hours later, deputies were sent to the house after a family member found the toddler unresponsive in the car, authorities said.
The temperature in Madisonville climbed to 95 degrees on Sunday; the heat index — what temperature it feels like — reached 105 degrees.
“This is a devastating loss that no family ever wants to face,” Sheriff Randy Smith said in a statement. “When a child is left in a vehicle, especially on a day when the heat index climbs over 100 degrees, the outcome can turn deadly in a matter of minutes. This case involved compromised judgment, and the result was heartbreaking.”
The girl is the fifth child to die in a hot car in the U.S. this year, according to national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org.
On average, 38 children die in hot cars every year in the U.S. About 88% of them are 3 years old or younger, KidsAndCars.org said.
Click here for hot car safety tips to keep in mind this summer.
(UNION, Maine) — The 17-year-old suspect in the murder of a paddleboarder earlier this month will appear in court on Friday, where he is expected to be charged with one count of murder.
Sunshine Stewart was found dead on July 3 at Crawford Pond in Union, Maine. Her cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma, Maine State Police revealed Thursday.
The suspect, who is male, was arrested without incident Wednesday night, police said. He came to the pond area to spend summer vacation time with his family, according to an official familiar with the investigation.
He is expected to appear remotely from the South Portland juvenile detention facility, where he is being held, in front of a Knox County district judge.
It is unclear whether the 17-year-old will be charged as an adult.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(GASTONIA, N.C.) — The parents of a 7-year-old boy who was fatally struck by a car while trying to cross a street in North Carolina have been charged with manslaughter and remain in jail on $1.5 million bond, police said.
The child was hit by a Jeep Cherokee on May 27 in Gastonia, located west of Charlotte, police said.
He was attempting to cross the street outside of a crosswalk with a 10-year-old boy when the crash occurred, according to the Gastonia Police Department. He suffered life-threatening injuries and died at a hospital.
His parents — Jessica Ivey, 30, and Samuele Jenkins, 31 — were charged two days after the deadly collision with felony involuntary manslaughter, felony child neglect and misdemeanor child neglect, police said.
The parents said the older child was the boy’s brother, ABC Charlotte affiliate WSOC reported.
The Gastonia Police Department said in a press release that its investigation “revealed that the children involved were unsupervised at the time the boy stepped into traffic.”
“In such cases, adults must be held accountable for their responsibilities to ensure a safe environment for their children,” the department added.
A judge set the parents’ bond at $1.5 million during a court appearance on Friday. They remain in custody in the Gaston County Jail, online jail records show. They have not yet entered a plea to the charges.
ABC News has reached out to Ivey’s public defender for comment and did not immediately receive a response. Jenkins’ attorney said he was appointed to the case on Wednesday and had not received any documents yet.
The 76-year-old female driver of the Jeep has not been charged, police said.
“At this time, there is no evidence of speeding or wrongdoing on the part of the driver, therefore no charges have been filed,” the Gastonia Police Department said. “The driver continues to be cooperative and the incident remains under active investigation by the Gastonia Police Department’s Traffic Division.”
Police did not release the name of the boy who was fatally struck, though his parents said his first name was Legend in an interview with WSOC prior to their arrest.
Ivey told the station that her two sons were walking the two blocks home from a shopping center for the first time on their own when the accident occurred, WSOC reported.
“It was just devastating. I’m still in shock,” she told WSOC.
“It’s hard. I haven’t stopped crying. My husband hasn’t stopped crying,” she told the station.
Ivey added that she wanted “justice for my baby” against the driver, whose name has not been publicly released.
“I just don’t feel like she should still be able to drive,” Ivey told WSOC.
Jenkins told WSOC he was on the phone with his sons when the crash occurred.
“I heard my oldest son, he was like, ‘Oh my God, Legend, no, no,'” he told the station. “So I hung up and … I ran to find them.”
The parents are next scheduled to appear in court on June 20.
