JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Police say officers likely saved a woman's life in North Jacksonville.
"Officers saved this woman's life by being in the right place at the right time," said Chief Tom Hackney.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office held a news conference Friday morning about the police shooting on Thursday night.
Police say Clifton Day, 55, repeatedly bashed his ex-wife's car with his truck along Lem Turner Boulevard yesterday evening, the final bump sent her car into the woods.
The suspect's truck also flipped and crashed. SWAT team officers, who were returning from training, saw it happen and rushed over to help, initially thinking it was a crash. But the woman in the car told officers she believed her ex-husband was trying to kill her.
Officers went to free the suspect from the wreckage when police say he reached for a gun.
Detective Jared Reston, a 10-year veteran and SWAT member, used his AR-15 rifle and fired six shots at the suspect, killing him at the scene.
Officers recovered a .32 caliber Beretta from Clifton Day's truck. It had one bullet in the chamber and other rounds in a clip.
Investigators say Clifton and Sandy Day had been married for 31 years before divorcing in 2012.
Police said there was a significant history of domestic violence between the couple. Police arrested Clifton Day in 2011 and charged him with felony battery against her. Clifton Day was also arrested multiple times for violation of a protection order, driving under the influence, violation of parole, violation of probation, and damage to property.
Investigators believe Clifton and Sandy Day were trying to sell a house together and that's what led to the violence along Lem Turner Road.
