Charges Dropped Against Florida Woman Who Shot Officer During Botched Drug Raid 

A Florida woman who shot a police officer during what she thought was a home invasion has been cleared of all charges.

Diamonds Ford and her fiancé, Anthony Gantt, fought the controversial case for three years.

On September 28th, 2020, the couple were asleep inside their Jacksonville home just before 8:00 a.m. when officers burst through the door. According to reports, the officers did not properly announce themselves, leading the couple to believe they were burglars. Ford fired her gun, striking Detective R.M. Nauss multiple times in his bulletproof vest. He was not injured.

Still not realizing there were police in her home, Ford called 911 and requested help, telling the dispatcher, “Please hurry.” Seconds later, an officer finally began calling out commands, which Ford complied with. Both she and Gantt were charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and armed possession of marijuana with intent to sell.

The officers say they were executing a drug warrant at the couple’s home after seeing frequent foot traffic to their residence. The couple has remained adamant that they did not announce themselves. Finally, last week, the charges against Gantt and Ford were dropped due to two officers involved in the raid being corrupt.

Now, Ford is relieved, though she admitted that the journey to vindicate herself has been difficult.

“It’s been hell. It’s been very hard trying to keep everything afloat, knowing that I couldn’t work as a pharmacy technician due to my charges. I’ve experienced constantly looking for jobs, and they constantly denied me because of my background because of these charges,” she shared at last week’s press conference.

Ford’s attorney, Stephen Kelly, also praised the ruling in an Instagram statement: “We celebrate not only all charges being dropped against Ms. Ford and Mr. Gantt, but we also celebrate policy change that will decrease the chances of something like this happening again.”

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A post shared by Stephen B. Kelly Jr., Esq. (@socqtes)

Florida Highway Patrol trooper Joshua Earrey and former Nassau County Deputy James Hickox are accused of stealing money and drugs they’ve seized during investigations. Both are facing multiple federal charges in the case, and many cases involving them are being re-examined.