Three Jacksonville sheriff's officers have been shot this year. Here's what we know.

Tuesday night’s third shooting of a Jacksonville sheriff’s officer not even four months through the year is unprecedented and equals the total from 2017 to 2022, according to Times-Union data.

All three suffered gunfire at close range to the head area and mercifully all survived. Two of the gunmen were killed by officers returning fire and the other by suicide. Only one had an extensive criminal history.

It’s left Sheriff T.K. Waters and law enforcement angered and confounded about what’s happening here and elsewhere.

"What I think is there is an environment that exists today that encourages people to fight the police," Waters said following last month’s shooting of an officer. "And that should not be the case. I see this happening more and more around the country and it's happening here."

Officer Jeremy Mason: Jacksonville K-9 officer survives gunshot to face, kills bank robbery suspect

Deputy Joshua Moyers: Patrick McDowell pleads guilty to killing Nassau deputy

Kevin Rojas: Judge sentences young Jacksonville man to life in prison for shooting officer

Some people attribute it to distrust of law enforcement and to the frequent images and news reports of police brutality. Others counter that those are the extreme minority of undisciplined or unscrupulous officers. Either way, the mission of police is to protect, and that should not be disregarded or interfered with.

Here’s the background on the city’s three shootings of officers, per the Sheriff’s Office.

April 18 at Baptist Medical Center South

About 9:30 p.m. an off-duty officer working at the hospital on Old St. Augustine Road noticed a suspicious vehicle circling the parking lot. The officer attempted to stop the car, but the driver began to flee. Other officers responded and one who was on foot raised a hand in front of him ordering him to stop the car several times. The man rolled the window down slightly, held out a gun and said, “Shoot me.”

Officer Jared Reston: Wounded Jacksonville officer honored by Biden, U.S. attorney general

Officer Tim Stafford: Despite vicious assault, former Atlantic Beach officer tells attacker 'I do forgive you'

He then pulled up next to another officer and fired one shot into the patrol car. No officers had fired at this point due to safety concerns for people in the parking lot. Other officers tried to forcibly stop him, but he instead rammed two patrol cars before crashing. Officers gave repeated commands for him to get out of the car. He then shot one of them in face as the officer tried to open one of his car doors. Five officers returned fire, killing 38-year-old Jeffrey Alan Martin of Jacksonville. The officer, whom First Coast News identified as Taylor Smith, was hospitalized in critical condition.

What do we know of Jeffrey Martin?

It is still unclear — at least publicly — why Martin was there, why he had the gun and why he chose to flee and fire at police. Duval County court records show he has no criminal history, just some traffic tickets dating back to 2004. Court records also reveal the shooting happened the day before the two-year anniversary that he and his wife since 2014 had separated. She officially filed for divorce in February 2022. They had two children, 9 and 3 years old. Property records show he had owned a home on Lucky Drive off Tallulah Avenue since 2006.

March 26 on Ridgeview Avenue near Firestone Road

The confrontation actually stemmed from an 11:15 p.m. traffic stop on March 19 where 32-year-old Tyliko Getz Maduro ran a red light at 103rd Street and Interstate 295. He stopped for the officer, provided his driver’s license and said he understood he ran the light. But after a few minutes of questioning and asking if officers could search his car, Maduro sped off. Instead of chasing him, they decided to follow up by going to his home on the Westside several days later. When they knocked on his door in the early morning hours, they got no response but could hear a woman inside.

Since they didn’t have a warrant and were only there to question him, they decided to contact his mother and ask her to meet them there. She cooperated and knocked on his door about 4:30 a.m. and hollered his name. When he still didn’t respond, she unlocked the door and he was there waiting a short distance away aiming a rifle. He fired three rounds hitting Officer Malik Daricaud once. The mother yelled for him to stop. He then fired some more, but officers did not shoot back. SWAT was called in, but Maduro would later shoot and kill himself. The 25-year-old officer was in grave condition but has since been doing rehabilitation.

What do we know about Tyliko Maduro?

Maduro’s fiancee was in the home at the time, but there was no mention where their children were. Although the sheriff said he had no serious troubles with the law, court records show he pleaded guilty to some minor drug charges in 2011. Florida Divison of Corporations records show he was the registered agent for TM Demo and Repair at one of his previous Jacksonville home addresses in 2021, but the listing was inactive. His fiancee said it was very chaotic and he was just trying to protect his family.

Jan. 20 on Hardee Street near Edward Waters University

Officers were following up a burglary to a residence on West Second Street that occurred about 5:30 p.m. They were given a description of a man leaving on a bicycle. They also were informed the victim’s smart watch was stolen and that person was able to track the GPS to nearby Hardee Street. About an hour later officers saw the bicycle matching the description and learned from a family member that the suspect — 39-year-old Leon Bernard Burroughs — owned it and was living in his car.

Officer nearly killed: Jacksonville sheriff releases Jan. 20 police shooting bodycam. Here's what it shows.

They located the vehicle, and the five officers noticed a handgun on top of the car and moved it and also noticed a man sleeping in the back. They opened the door and tried to talk with him and asked him multiple times to show them his hands and also to get out of the car. He refused and told them to get the light out of his face so he could see. And for an unknown reason he fired a shot grazing an unidentified officer in the face, and all five opened fire on him killing him.

What do we know about Leon Burroughs?

Burroughs has 19 prior arrests in Jacksonville, mostly burglary, trespassing, theft and drugs and alcohol, according to court and jail records. His most recent arrest reports do no list any employment for him but a couple in 2019 showed he did landscaping work. His last arrest was Sept. 14 for a trespassing charge that he pleaded guilty to and was released Nov. 9 for time served. His longest prison term was two years for grand theft auto in Alachua County when he was released in 2018.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Here's what happened to three Jacksonville officers shot this year