Deputy shoots man during domestic violence incident
A deputy shot an “out of control” man during a domestic violence incident Thursday, the Broward Sheriff ’s Office said.
The gunfire happened about 9 a.m. at a house in the 3500 block of Northwest 33rd Avenue in Lauderdale Lakes. The wounded man, whose name was not released, survived surgery and was in the intensive care unit at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Sheriff Scott Israel said.
Israel said he was “very disappointed” that detectives had gathered at a scene for another shooting by a deputy.
“We’re at the beginning stages of the investigation and obviously pray for this man’s recovery. So thankful and blessed that our deputies were unharmed,” he said.
The man’s sister who live in the Lauderdale Lakes house called 911 for help, according to Israel.
“The brother was violent, out of control,” Israel said. “He struck his sister, he destroyed many of the items in the home.”
The sister tried to lock herself in a room but the brother busted open the door and continued to pursue her. She ran outdoors, called for help and four deputies arrived, including two trained in crisis intervention techniques, the lawman said.
The brother kicked out glass from a front window of the home and threw it at the arriving deputies, according to the sheriff’s office.
“All our deputies wanted to do was help, assist,” Israel said. “They knew how to deal with an individual who was in this frame of mind. They did everything they could.”
Israel said stun guns fired multiple times by three of the deputies “seemed to have little or no effect on this man. There came a point in time where we tried to handcuff him. He began to go back into what I would call a violent rage, I’ve been told.”
The man charged at a deputy and she fired her gun multiple times, striking him, Israel said. Deputies shifted from law enforcers to trying to save the man’s life.
“I’m very Israel said.
During a 12:30 p.m. proud of that,” press conference, the sheriff said he had not yet seen deputies’ body camera footage and will decide whether to release it after he reviews it.
In December, Israel took the unusual step of releasing deputies’ body camera footage and other evidence two days after the fatal shooting of a man at a Lauderdale Lakes apartment complex. The sheriff wanted to be transparent, he said then, and to counter what he called “misinformation” on social media and in the community about what happened that day.
Israel said at least one other time, deputies had hospitalized the man under Florida’s Baker Act. The law allows for the involuntary commitment of people who are considered a danger to themselves or others. The deputies who went to his house Thursday morning were familiar with his health issues, Israel said.
The deputy who fired her weapon was the only one to do so. Her name was not released, and she was described as having 11 years’ experience. Following the agency’s routine procedure after a shooting, she was placed on administrative leave with pay.