Big Gulp Goon: Cop Charged in 7-11 Fracas

Off-duty officer wrestled with shopper, pulled gun on customers: report

A Fort Lauderdale cop whose off duty antics inside a 7-11 included wrestling with a shopper and pulling his gun on other customers is facing charges of battery and falsifying reports.

Officer Jason Hersh, 34, was served with a summons Thursday on the three misdemeanor charges for the incident last December inside a Fort Lauderdale beach store, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Hersh, a 5-year veteran alleged in his reports that the shopper, Lee Ferrell, had made an aggressive move towards him, forcing him to tackle Ferrell.

But according to prosecutors, a surveillance camera inside the 7-11 showed Hersh to be the aggressor. He allegedly grabbed Ferrell and threw him outside after the two exchanged words inside.

Hersh, who wasn't wearing his uniform, then pulled a gun on the crowd that assembled to watch the scuffle, ordering them to go back inside.

Ferrell was arrested and charged with trespassing and resisting arrest. Prosecutors dropped the charges after reviewing the surveillance tape.

"What he writes in his report is contrary to what is seen on that video," prosecutor Spencer Multack told the Sun-Sentinel.

Hersh has been on paid leave since December 9, and may be suspended without pay.

It wouldn't be the first time Hersh has been reprimanded. His actions in the May 2009 shooting of a man suspected of trying to cash a stolen check was called "careless" by an investigator who said he "unnecessarily" put people's lives in danger.

Two years earlier, in May 2007, Hersh was involved in another shooting involving a 15-year-old driver who took police on a high speed chase.

In both shootings, the suspects were seriously injured.

Contact Us