Lee Trawick Reporter2@riverbendnews.org
On Tuesday, May 25, in Hamilton County, a Deputy driving a marked police vehicle attempted a lawful traffic stop on a vehicle with a passenger that had active felony warrants around 1 p.m. Upon stopping the vehicle, the passenger exited proceeded to flee on foot into the nearby woods. The Officer took it upon himself to follow the now suspect into the woods. While the deputy was trying to release his K-9, the suspect fired his weapon in the direction of the officer, who then returned fire, striking the suspect. The suspect was flown to UF Health Shand's Hospital in Gainesville and was later pronounced dead. The officer in question was not injured during the altercation.
While Hamilton County Sheriff Harrell Reid has complete confidence in his deputy's action, “It has always been a policy of mine that anytime an incident like this occurs I call in outside law enforcement to conduct a full investigation,” Sheriff Reid explained. Therefore, Sheriff Reid reached out to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to conduct a formal investigation of the actions of the incident.
At this time, the deputy has been placed on leave pending the investigation. Riverbend News will continue to follow this story as it unfolds.