Sanford police defend officers’ actions before fatal shooting

Sanford police Monday defended the interaction of officers with a man hours before he allegedly shot six people, killing two.

Police Chief Cecil Smith said he called the news conference because of an erroneous report on WESH-Channel 2 that said an officer told shooting victim Latina Herring to “stop calling 911 and making accusations that you don’t know about.”

Body-cam footage showed the officer actually made the statement to a man who called 911 on her behalf prior to the March 27 shooting during a confrontation between Herring and her boyfriend, murder suspect Allen D. Cashe, at a Wawa.

Cashe, 31, is accused of going to Herring’s home about two hours later and killing Herring, 35, and her 8-year-old son Branden Christian. He also allegedly wounded Herring’s 7-year-old son Brendon, her father Bertis Gerard Herring Jr., 60, and two others.

Earlier at the Wawa, Cashe called 911, accusing Herring of taking his car keys. About 20 minutes later, a man called 911 on Herring’s behalf to say Cashe had a loaded gun and was arguing with Herring in front of her home on Hays Drive. Police responded but didn’t find a gun on Cashe. Herring told officers that she wanted Cashe to take his belongings and leave.

A WESH representative didn’t return a call for comment.

Body-cam footage showed Herring coming out with Cashe’s stuff, including a red backpack. Cashe took some of the stuff, but said the backpack wasn’t his and left in his car.

Officers later found a gun in the backpack. Smith said Monday police could not have arrested Cashe, a convicted felon prohibited from having a gun, because he never held the bag.

Smith said the gun in the backpack and the AK-47 were registered to Herring. She bought the AK-47 on March 10, Smith said.

Smith called the shooting a “horrible thing,” but said his officers acted appropriately.