Negligence, without consequence

The end of a recent lawsuit brought about by the estate of Jared Forsyth, the only Ocala Police officer to be killed in the line of duty in 60 years, raises questions about the fairness of current state legislation and the city of Ocala.

By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com

Jared Forsyth and his Ocala Police Department partner Matt Sams were cleaning their service weapons after firearms training at a range adjacent to Lowell Correctional Institution when the unthinkable occurred.

A fellow officer who was cleaning his weapon nearby squeezed the trigger, sending a live round ricocheting around the area. The single slug from the Glock .40 caliber handgun struck the cleaning station surface and rebounded off several other objects before finding a gap between the panels of Forsyth’s vest and severing an artery on his right side.

Sams held his 33-yearold partner’s hand while first responders raced to help. Forsyth was taken to Ocala Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Nearly eight years after the April 6, 2015, tragic event, Forsyth’s mother, Amy Forsyth Juliano, continues to mourn her only child, who was unmarried with no children at the time of his death. Her heartache has been compounded, however, by a legal system that not only failed to provide her with any meaningful compensation for her loss, it targeted her as well

See Forsyth, page A2

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