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A Black woman who shot a Jacksonville police officer thinking he was an intruder in her home is trying to get the charges dropped

Bre'Anna Grant   

A Black woman who shot a Jacksonville police officer thinking he was an intruder in her home is trying to get the charges dropped
  • Diamonds Ford was arrested after she shot a police officer she thought was an intruder in her home.
  • Jacksonville police say SWAT detectives announced their presence, but Ford said she didn't hear them.
  • Now, supporters are calling for the charges to be dropped against Ford.

When Jacksonville police broke the bedroom window of Diamonds Ford's home just before 8 a.m. on September 28, she awoke thinking it was an intruder.

Ford, 28, fired shots through the window - not realizing it was police serving a high-risk search warrant, News4Jax reported.

Police say SWAT detectives announced their presence at Ford's home, but she said she didn't hear them.

WJXT's Travis Gibson obtained the 911 dispatch call where Ford, who called after shooting out the window, is heard telling the dispatcher to "please hurry."

Ford is heard saying with surprise that it's the sheriff's office at her house before police fire shots.

"I'm opening the door!" Ford screams. "You've got the wrong house!"

Ford and her fiancé, Anthony Gantt, were arrested after the altercation. They were charged with attempted murder of a police officer and intent to distribute.

The bullets Ford fired hit the officer's bulletproof vest and he was released from the hospital the same day, News4Jax previously reported.

Activists and advocates are calling for the charges against Ford to be dropped

Now, supporters are calling for the charges to be dropped against Ford.

According to the AP, Stephen Kelly, Ford's lawyer, said the 911 call shows that Ford didn't realize it was police outside her home and she had fired in self-defense.

"Miss Ford, just hearing her voice, she was in fear," Kelly said during a news conference Monday outside the Duval County Courthouse. "She thought she was going to die that day."

The Hill reported that groups including Dignity Power, which helps formerly incarcerated women; the National Bail Fund Network; and the Minnesota Freedom Fund paid Ford's $535,006 bail. A GoFundMe page has also raised more than $5,000 for her.

Ford was released from jail Friday and told News4Jax that she's innocent.

"I feel blessed Dignity Power did their thing coming together in women empowerment to even get enough money to get me out. I am very appreciative," Ford told the news outlet.

A change.org petition has collected more than 10,000 signatures calling for the state to drop all charges against Ford.

"No-knock" warrants came under fire when Breonna Taylor was killed by police on March 13 during a narcotics bust in Louisville, Kentucky.

"You don't allow Black women to protect themselves. So we are here to ask you to protect Black women," Tray Johns, executive director of Dignity Power, told CBS News.

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