Man shot by police came to area to escape troubles
Roman Ivnitski turned to booze to blunt the pain after his wife left him for another man eight years ago. He handled neither the rejection nor the alcohol well.
Originally from Uzbekistan, Ivnitski’s father and sister persuaded him to leave his troubles behind in Albuquerque, N.M., and join them in South Florida.
Ivnitski did just that three years ago, but the drinking tagged along.
“He has a problem,” Dmitri Ivnitski said of his son.
Roman Ivnitski is in critical condition after being shot by Hollywood police on Monday evening outside a bar on Surf Road. Police claim the 41-year-old refused to drop his gun and so they shot him.
Police this week have refused to identify the officers who shot him. They also would not say how Ivnitski may have threatened them, how many times he was shot or how police tried to defuse the situation.
In a statement, police would say only this: “Officers attempted to make contact with the individual in an attempt to deescalate the situation. However, the individual’s actions necessitated a use of force response by police, resulting in a police involved shooting.”
Dmitri Ivnitski had no idea his son was shot and in such grave condition at Memorial Regional Hospital until the South Florida Sun Sentinel informed him Thursday.
Ivnitski said he and his daughter, Irena Ivnitski Steele, had been calling his son’s cellphone, emailing him and driving around trying to figure out why he did not come home Monday night.
“We didn’t know where he was,” Dmitri Ivnitski said.
Making matters worse, Dmitri Ivnitski was not allowed inside the hospital Thursday to see his son. A Hollywood police officer stationed at the hospital told Dmitri Ivnitski that his son was in custody inside the hospital.
Officer Christian Lata, a spokesman for the Hollywood Police Department, refused to answer emails and text messages asking whether there is a policy to contact family after a person is shot by police.
The shooting is under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement at the request of the Hollywood Police Department. This is the 73rd police shooting or use-offorce case the state has investigated this year, said Gretl Plessinger, a spokeswoman for the state agency.
A report from police says Ivnitski was standing on the street about 10:45 p.m., pointing a gun toward Ocean’s 13 Sports Bar and Grill at 3111 N. Surf Road.
A man who takes care of the area’s homeless cats told police he had just fed the cats and was riding his bicycle toward a trash can when he saw Roman Ivnitski pointing a gun near the bar.
The witness said he missed the trash can when he tried to drop the cat food cans into it and the noise must have startled Ivnitski. Ivnitski turned toward him with his gun and shouted an expletive, he said.
The bicyclist told police he rode behind parked cars to take cover and then rode to a public restroom. When he saw that Ivnitski was no longer pointing the gun toward him, he raced to his home nearby.
That’s when Hollywood police showed up.
According to police, officers spotted Ivnitski and said he was holding a gun. Police said Ivnitski did not acknowledge the officers and did not obey orders to drop the gun. So officers shot him.
Liz Kofsky was in bed watching the news when she heard about seven or eight shots Monday night.
“Oh my goodness, there were so many gunshots,” she said.
A neighbor sent a text message asking why there were so many police cars in the area. She said she stepped outside and saw the flurry of police about a block away.
Kofsky said she eventually went down to where the shooting happened and she saw dozens of evidence markers and noticed bullet holes in a wall.
“I live 100 steps from the ocean. Who would ever have thought this would happen in my neighborhood?” she said.
Later she learned it was another neighbor of hers who had been on the bicycle when the gun was allegedly turned on him.
“He’s shocked. He’s very nervous,” Kofsky said.
Police say Ivnitski’s gun was recovered and his white car, with several bullet holes, was towed away.
When police first announced the shooting, they said Ivnitski was naked. He was not, and police aren’t explaining why they initially said he was.
Dmitri Ivnitski said he is familiar with his son’s gun.
“It’s an imitation,” he said. He did not explain why his son would have a fake gun.
On Roman Ivnitski’s Facebook page is a photo of him with what looks like a real gun. His father told the Sun Sentinel that it was his son’s fake gun.
Lata, the police spokesman, did not respond to questions about whether the gun found at the scene was fake.
Dmitri Ivnitski said the family moved to the United States 22 years ago, a decision he does not regret. “I love the United States, everything I love.”
His described his son as a kind person but said alcohol did cause him problems.
“My son, unfortunately, his marriage was broken, he started to drink,” he said.
Standing outside the hospital because he was unable to get inside and see his son, Dmitri Ivnitski hung his head low. As a dad who tried to persuade his son to get help for his drinking, he was feeling defeated.
“In Florida, I took care of him. My daughter took care of him. We tried much to help and,” he said sighing, “I don’t know what to do.”