Christopher Ford, 45, was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon after he approached a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office sergeant at a West Beaver Street substation, fired a handgun toward the officer and was hit by return fire. JSO said Ford missed the sergeant and struck the building before the officer shot back.
The shooting is now drawing attention because it ended with Ford dead at UF Health and because JSO said body camera footage will not be released for up to 21 days. The brief exchange happened around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday after Ford walked up to a sergeant who was doing paperwork, Chief of Investigators Michael Paul said.
For Rashad Menefee, the news landed hours after he saw a Facebook post from Ford that he says felt off. Menefee said he served with Ford aboard the USS Philippine Sea, remembered him as “very personable” and “always easygoing,” and said the post “seemed like the post was a cry for help.” He said he first assumed someone would check on Ford and make sure he was all right before learning what had happened.
That contrast is what gives the case its weight. Menefee and another sailor described Ford as a warm presence — “a wonderful Sailor, husband, and father” who “always had the interest of others in his heart” — while JSO says the encounter turned violent only after Ford pulled out a handgun and fired toward the sergeant. The shot missed the officer, but it did not miss the building, and the exchange ended in seconds.
JSO also confirmed Ford had been Baker Acted in February 2026, which adds another layer to a shooting that already raises questions about how a fast-moving encounter at a substation escalated so quickly. News4JAX asked whether the agency plans to review or update its de-escalation policy for people in a mental health crisis, but JSO pointed back to its incident briefing and said the video would be available within 21 days.
What remains unresolved is the part that happened before the gunfire: why Ford walked up to the sergeant in the first place, and what the conversation was about. For now, the facts JSO has put on the record point to a brief contact, a single shot from Ford, and a fatal response that will stay under review until the footage is public.
