Lawtey officer awarded for detaining carjacking suspect

Lawtey Police Officer Cesar Rodriguez (center) receives a certificate of appreciation from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and an Award of Valor from Lawtey Police Chief Jerry Feltner (left). Photo: City of Lawtey.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Lawtey Police Department honored a Lawtey police officer for apprehending a defendant in a carjacking incident.

Cesar Rodriguez, an off-duty Lawtey officer, was riding a motorcycle in the Argyle Forest area of Jacksonville on Aug. 3 when he saw a traffic crash and was told by witnesses that one of the participants in the collision was fleeing the scene.

“Without hesitation, Officer Rodriguez intercepted the suspect who resisted efforts to being detained,” wrote Jacksonville Sheriff Pat Ivey in a letter to Lawtey Police Chief Jerry Feltner.  “Using excellent physical control techniques, Officer Rodriguez performed an arm-bar takedown on the suspect and detained him until on-duty JSO Officers arrived. The suspect violently resisted JSO Officers and Officer Rodriguez assisted in safely taking him into custody.”

Ivey’s agency gave Rodriguez a certificate of appreciation, and Chief Feltner gave the officer an Award of Valor from Lawtey PD.

More on this story later from the Telegraph-Times-Monitor.