On Monday night, Orlando Police officers responded to 2818 Shining Willow Terrace after receiving three calls about a domestic disturbance.
According to Orlando Police Chief Eric Smith, a 26-year-old Black man was on the porch outside the house when officers arrived. The two officers who were on the scene noticed the suspect had a visible gun in his pocket. Smith said, officers gave commands for the suspect not to touch the gun. In a press conference, Smith said, “the suspect disobeyed the commands, jumped a nearby fence, and ran. Officers stopped his escape cutting him off.”
A press release from OPD stated, “As a result, he was tased and at some point, the gun fell out of his pocket.”
Smith said, “Officers gave verbal commands again to get on the ground and not reach for the gun. He refused, officers tased the suspect the gun fell onto the ground.” Smith added, “The suspect pulled out the taser prongs.” When questioned, Smith said, “So he pulled out the prongs and then he bent down to reach the gun.” He added, “So He pulled out the prongs and sort of jumped up to reach the gun.”
Smith said, officers rendered aid, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
When questioned toward the end of the press conference, Smith said officers first went inside the house and spoke to a woman before they realized the suspect was armed. “The first officer talked to the female and then he came back out and that’s when the other officer realized the guy outside was armed,” Smith said.
Smith also said, “The suspect was a convicted felon who was arrested multiple times. He was previously arrested for battery, domestic violence, resisting an officer with violence, battery on a law enforcement officer and armed robbery.”
The officers involved were not injured and will be on paid administrative leave. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will conduct an independent review of the incident, that will be turned over to the State Attorney’s office. Additionally, the Orlando Police Department will conduct its own internal investigation.
The officers did have their body worn cameras on during the shooting. However, the body worn camera has not been released but will be made available to the public within 30 days.
