A man who was employed as a telecommunicator with the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office in Florida was fired after he faked a story about getting shot while two black men carjacked him. But it turns out his gunshot wound was self-inflicted, Law&Crime reported.
Dakotah Wood, 21, has been charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, false reports of commission of crimes, and discharging a firearm in public or residential property.
Wood’s troubles began when police responded to call about an attempted carjacking and shooting. When they arrived on the scene, they found Wood suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg.
Wood initially told police that was the victim of an attempted carjacking.
“Wood said the men displayed a firearm and made a threat to kill him before shooting him in the thigh,” a press release stated. “Wood said the shooter collected the shell casing prior to fleeing the area on foot. After being shot, Wood said he obtained his personal firearm and fired approximately five rounds in self-defense. Wood further advised he believed he hit one of the suspects several times. Following the shooting, Wood advised he relocated from the park to the intersection of Cortez Boulevard and Shoal Line Boulevard to create a safe distance from the suspects.”
Wood also told police that the suspects were black. But while being interviewed at the hospital, Wood confessed that he lied and was instead at the park because he was having relationship troubles with his girlfriend and was “playing” with his gun when he accidentally shot himself. He added that he invented the carjacking story because he didn’t want to get in trouble.
“These types of situations are relatively rare, unfortunate, and unpleasant,” Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said in the press release. “My administration, however, has a very public reputation of holding my people accountable for their actions. The public can be confident that when an employee does something of this nature, they will forfeit their ability to be associated with the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.”
