On their own property, a Black couple was eating together in their automobile when a sheriff’s officer approached them, asked if they were authorized to be there, and handcuffed the Black guy for allegedly trespassing.
Riley Artman, a Marion County sheriff’s deputy, drove onto the property last week and approached their car, requesting to see their identities to verify that they indeed lived there. This is when the incident happened. However, Freddie and Navongela Jackson ordered the deputy off their property after refusing to produce their identification.
Even though he was unable to provide evidence of a reasonable suspicion that the couple had committed a crime, the deputy insisted he was carrying out a “criminal investigation.” “You must give me your name because I’m conducting a criminal investigation until I can confirm this is your property,” the deputy stated.
The matter should have been addressed when Freddie Jackson eventually produced his identity, but the deputy told him to go back inside his car when he opened the door to go outside, subsequently expressing to a supervisor that he was afraid for his safety.
“Now, get back in the car,” the deputy said. Before the deputy handcuffed him and put him in the back of the patrol car, Freddie Jackson retorted, “This is my property.” Before the deputy verified they were the true owners of the property and freed Freddie Jackson, he was handcuffed in the back of the car for around fifteen minutes.
Currently, the Black couple intends to sue. “Racial profiling!” During her husband’s release, Navongela Jackson stated. “I guess a Black woman can’t have a nice house.” The incident happened on June 29 after Artman chose to look at a running car parked in front of the house while driving past.
“You own this property?” Artman asked after approaching the vehicle. “We’re here, ain’t we,” responded Freddie Jackson. “Doesn’t mean you own it,” responded Artman. “We own it,” Freddie Jackson responded. “Let me see your IDs,” the deputy demanded. “Get off our property!” Freddie Jackson told him. “Let me see your IDs now,” the deputy insisted.
“he wasn’t resisting”.
As you can clearly see him resisting. https://t.co/5PZQHOKzB6
— Del Hibson (@GeneAKdigger) July 5, 2025
The deputy called for backup because “they’re being uncooperative,” but the pair refused to give up their identity and insisted on evicting him from their property. “Why is you here?” asked Freddie Jackson. “It’s a new construction house, I see a vehicle sitting out front running —” “This is our home!” Interrupted Freddie Jackson.
Artman told the pair that he was “conducting a criminal investigation” at that point. However, since there was no proof of a real burglary occurring, the deputy had no reason to suspect that they were committing a crime.
“I don’t know why you all are being hostile, I’m just trying to do my job,” Artman said. “You being f-cking hostile now,” Freddie Jackson responded. “I’m not being hostile,” the deputy claimed. “Because you just pulled up on our f-cking property and acting like we don’t own it,” Freddie Jackson said.
A Florida sheriff’s deputy has resigned after he mistook a falling acorn for a gunshot, claimed he had been hit by a bullet, and fired at an unarmed, handcuffed Black man sitting in the back of his police car. Fortunately, Marquis Jackson in the back of the car was not injured. pic.twitter.com/0i11nYx1cl
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) February 14, 2024
Novongela once complained to 911 that the deputy had trespassed on their property, but Artman had already dispatched another deputy to the scene. Freddie Jackson was handcuffed in the back of the patrol cruiser when the second deputy arrived, but he had already given his identity.
In an attempt to defend his detention, Artman told the second deputy that he was driving by when he noticed a car with lights on and people inside, and that he felt compelled to go look into it because a building on the land was still being built.
Since he didn’t know they were Black until he approached them, Artman said it wasn’t racial profiling. He asserted that residences under construction are frequently broken into.
He still couldn’t, however, express a reasonable suspicion that they had committed a crime, which is typically the starting point for a criminal investigation that results in a citizen’s incarceration. Navongela Jackson had held the property since 2017, according to Marion County Property Appraiser documents, and by 2021, her husband had been added to the deed.
