Officer Brutality urges Citizen Encounters Committee in Jacksonville

The grand jury strongly recommended the commission immediately establish a committee to implement clear policies, procedures and protocols for "responding to emotionally charged escalating citizen encounters."

Code enforcement officers should also take an oath to abide by performance standards and be held accountable for their actions on the job, the presentment said.

The grand jury gave the commission a 90-day deadline to comply and said the committee chairman should report to the next grand jury and the District Attorney's Office that the recommendation has been completed. If necessary, a subpoena should be issued to compel the committee chairman to report, the presentment says.

Commission Chairman Howard Lynn said the county has a training program but has instructed the director of Community Development to determine whether a more extensive training program is needed.

"I'm not going to be a Monday morning quarterback. I'm sorry the man got shot. I'm sorry he started threatening people," Lynn said. "We have to go forward and pray it doesn't happen again."

When asked if the code enforcement officers had acted properly, Lynn said he regretted the use of some "verbage'' by code enforcement officers.

Lynn said he would also look into whether the grand jury has the authority to issue such directives to the County Commission.

Police responded to Reagin's home at the request of Glynn County code enforcement officers Mickey Milton and Robin Hummel. Both later told investigators that Reagin accosted and verbally berated and threatened them after they stopped to advise him that an advertising sign in front of his home violated the county's zoning ordinance.

In a 911 call requesting police backup, Milton is heard saying, "This guy here, we're fixing to have to whip his ***."

County spokeswoman Candice Temple said neither County Attorney Aaron Mumford nor county administrative staff had received a copy of the presentment Wednesday afternoon.

"We will refrain from commenting on it until we've had sufficient time to review it," Temple said.

Reagin had a blood alcohol content level of 0.125, a toxicology test performed at the state crime laboratory revealed.

In Georgia, a person with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 can be charged with driving under the influence. He also had Lamotrigine, a prescription drug used to treat bipolar disorder, and the antidepressant Pristiq in his system, the results showed.

Both carry warnings that, when used in combination with alcohol, the drugs might impair judgment and thinking and cause central nervous system depression.

Police Chief Matt Doering issued a 23-page report to the County Commission detailing the findings of an internal investigation.

The report said officers reported seeing Reagin pointing guns at them from inside his home and that he threatened to kill them. After changing into camouflage clothing, Reagin made 19 obscenity-lacedt hreats to kill police during a 29-minute phone conversation with an officer who is married to Reagin's niece.

When Reagin finally came outside to accept a citation, SWAT officers fired a Taser, which struck Reagin but dislodged when he fell. Reagin regained his feet and was running around the side of his house toward the back door when he was fatally shot.

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