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Joshua Charles Thornton

Age : 33

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 09/07/2021

Location : Kingsland Court, off State Road 13

City : Fruit Cove

County : St. Johns

State : Florida

Agency : St. Johns County Sheriff's Office

Officer(s) :Jylton Tusha

Cause of Death : Suicide

Event : Suicide under police duress during traffic stop

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 09/07/2021, 35-year-old Joshua Thornton died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head during a traffic stop on Kingsland Court in Fruit Cove. St. Johns County Sheriff’s Deputy Jylton Tusha also fired one shot, striking Thornton in the shoulder, but the medical examiner determined Tusha's wound was nonfatal and Thornton died from his own gunshot.
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Shortly before 4:30 p.m., Tusha attempted to conduct a traffic stop involving Thornton's white work truck. Thornton drove into the driveway of a residence on Kingsland Court. The homeowner later told reporters that she knew Thornton because she had previously hired him to perform tree work, but he was not scheduled to work at her home that day and she did not know why he entered her driveway. The truck displayed markings for Joshua Tree Service.
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Sheriff Robert Hardwick said that when Tusha approached Thornton's vehicle, Thornton fired one gunshot and Tusha responded by firing one round. Initial reporting therefore described Thornton as having been killed during an exchange of gunfire with the deputy.
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The medical evidence subsequently changed that account. The St. Johns County Medical Examiner's Office determined that Thornton had shot himself in the head and ruled his death a suicide. Tusha's bullet struck Thornton in the shoulder and produced a non-life-threatening wound.
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The initial sheriff's briefing did not establish whether Thornton fired his gun while inside or outside the truck or specify the type of firearm involved. The publicly available reporting also did not disclose the specific traffic violation or other reason Tusha initially attempted to stop Thornton.
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Tusha was not wearing a body camera. St. Johns County Sheriff's Office deputies had not yet been equipped department-wide with body-worn cameras in September 2021. The agency subsequently began issuing body cameras in March 2023 and completed its initial rollout by mid-April.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
Jylton Tusha was the St. Johns County sheriff's deputy who fired at Joshua Thornton. The Sheriff's Office reported that this was Tusha's first shooting as a deputy. No additional verified prior fatal shooting or substantive misconduct involving Tusha was located for this update.
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AGENCY RECORD
At the time Thornton died, the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office had not equipped its deputies with body-worn cameras. The agency had completed a body-camera pilot program but did not begin its department-wide rollout until March 2023, approximately 18 months after Thornton's death. SJSO ultimately issued cameras to 343 deputies during the initial rollout.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/st-johns-county/deputy-involved-shooting-fruit-cove-source-says/4KEAY43SWJCDRBEQKBHTPV275Y/
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/investigates/investigates-st-johns-county-sheriffs-office-deputies-now-wearing-body-cameras/SXFPV7WIONDXJHT3QQSDYESJ24/