Man Holding An Axe During A Mental Health Emergency Is Shot And Killed By Jacksonville Cop From A Distance

Police say a man wielding a hatchet, who may have been going through a mental health emergency, was killed by an officer with The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Thursday afternoon.

JSO says the incident happened in a wooded area in the 7000 block of Morse Avenue on the city's Westside. Kevin Mahan, 43, died as a result of the incident, according to police.

During a news briefing, Chief T.K. Waters said police responded to Morse Avenue around 3:56 a.m. in response to a report of a mentally ill individual cutting power to houses, among other things.

Waters said officers arrived, they were unable to locate a suspect, and they left the scene.

Police say they received another call at 11:30 a.m. about the same man, who had reportedly returned and was continuing to vandalize houses in the area.

Officers made contact with the complainants, and were able to spot the suspect in a nearby wooded area, Waters said.

The man, later identified by police as Mahan, walked through the wooded area to an open field, where he was spotted behind some branches, police say. An officer then noticed that the suspect was holding a hatchet, reports JSO.

Waters said that the nearest officer asked him to put down the hatchet at least three times before the suspect stood up and raised the axe. Police say the officer fired a single round, killing the suspect at the scene.

The officer has been placed on administrative leave, per JSO policy, pending the outcome of an official investigation.

Officials say a mental health co-responder not called in to assist in this case for two reasons.

Firstly, the initial call didn’t indicate a mental health situation, the initial call was “armed dispute”.

Secondly, officials say mental health co-responders are civilians and JSO won’t put civilians in harms way when a weapon is involved.