Bradford sheriff ’s deputies kill armed man

Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith said two sheriff ’s deputies shot and killed a man with apparent mental health issues who was armed with a rifle in a shootout Sunday morning.

Smith said neither deputy nor any neighbors were injured when the gunfire erupted shortly before 9 a.m. in a rural residential area off Northwest 216th Street outside Lawtey.

He has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the shooting — a standard practice in officer-involved shootings.

Smith said both deputies were wearing body cameras and their patrol cars were equipped with dashboard cameras. One deputy’s body camera was knocked off as he fell while seeking cover from the gunfire. However, the video recorded should be intact for viewing, he said,

The shooting evolved from a domestic disturbance call involving a man reportedly experiencing some kind of mental health issue.

Smith said family members told the arriving deputies the man was in the area of a shed, “that he did have a weapon and he had been off his medication for some time.”

“They were concerned about it. He was becoming very irate and volatile,” Smith told reporters. At one point the man came out of the shed and appeared to be talking on his cell phone. He then went back to the shed, Smith said.

“He did come out with a semiautomatic-style weapon and opened fire. The two deputies sought cover behind their marked patrol units, heard the marked patrol units getting hit by the rounds,” Smith said. “They then sought cover behind a parked, empty school bus that was nearby behind the marked patrol units, heard rounds hitting the school bus and heard rounds still being fired.”

Smith said the deputies went around back behind the school bus as he was coming around the front. Apparently, he noticed that and returned back between the bus and patrol cars, he said.

“The deputies returned fire and he fell,” Smith said.

Smith said the deputies administered emergency first aid until Bradford County Emergency Medical Service paramedics arrived and took over.

The man was pronounced dead at Shands Starke Regional Medical Center in Starke, he said.

Undersheriff Brad Smith said both deputies returned fire after the man shot at them. One deputy fired a full clip of bullets from his handgun, while the other shot at least a couple of times form his pistol, he said.

Because it was early in the investigation, the undersheriff said it wasn’t immediately known how many rifle bullets were fired at the deputies.

However, Sheriff’s Office photographs show at least two bullet holes in a patrol car as well as several bullet holes in the school bus.

The Sheriff’s Office hadn’t released the names of the man or deputies as of 3 p.m.

Undersheriff Brad Smith said once FDLE completes its investigation the Sheriff ’s Office will determine what type of internal investigation will be done.

Both deputies will be placed on paid administrative leave and will undergo a psychological evaluation to determine their fitness for duty, he also said.