ARMED, BARRICADED MAN SHOT
WHEN HE POINTS GUN AT POLICE OFFICERS
A heavily armed man barricaded in a downtown Clearwater
motel room was killed Friday afternoon when he pointed a gun at
law enforcement officers.
The man, tentatively identified as a 43-year-old
Tampa resident, was shot once by a Clearwater Police SWAT Team
member, and was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity has
not been positively established as of the time of this release.
The dead man, barricaded in the hotel room for almost
four hours and who had – at one point - at least one hostage,
had told Police SWAT Team Negotiators that he was going to force
a police officer to shoot him. He told SWAT Negotiators that he
wouldn't shoot himself, but was going to do something to make
police shoot him.
This event began Friday morning shortly after 10
o'clock when Clearwater Police received a BOLO from the Hillsborough
County Sheriff's Office of a man believed to be en route to the
1320 Cleveland Street Regal Motel, heavily armed and possibly
in the company of at least one other person.
When Patrol Officers checked the motel, they learned
a man with the same name and description as the suspect was in
Room 7.
Over the course of the next 30 or so minutes, Police
evacuated several nearby motel rooms and notified residents and
employees of nearby businesses to stay inside. When information
was developed that the barricaded man not only had a hostage with
him, but that he had a rifle, Police concerns for the safety of
civilians was elevated.
Additional Police and department employees established
a several-blocks-in-size perimeter, and closed Cleveland Street
from Evergreen Avenue to Lincoln Avenue to ensure the safety of
citizens. (Cleveland Street was closed to all traffic – vehicular
and pedestrian – from 10:30 a.m. until about 2:15 p.m.).
During telephone conversations with SWAT Negotiators,
the barricaded man said he had specialized military training,
further inflating Police concerns. On several occasions the man
told SWAT Negotiators he could see Police Officers around the
hotel, and that they were in danger of being shot.
In early afternoon, the man allowed his male hostage
to leave the motel room; that man provided investigators and Negotiators
information about the man's mental state, his armament and his
intentions.
At about 2 p.m. Friday, the man peered out of the
door of his hotel room. When he again appeared in the doorway,
he pointed a gun at Clearwater Police, and he was shot once. It
was 2:03 p.m. He died where he fell.
SWAT Team members had several "less-lethal"
weapons and options at the scene and at their disposal, but had
no opportunity to employ them.
Because of statements made by the man to negotiators,
there was some concern about the safety of the motel room, so
specialists with the Tampa Police Department Bomb Squad were asked
to check the room for "booby-traps"; they found no explosive
devices.
Although investigators are only now entering the
motel room, it has been established that the man was armed with
at least two handguns and one rifle. The room has not been completely
inspected at this time.
The Police Officer who fired the shot is a 16-year
veteran of the Clearwater Police Department, a SWAT Team member
since 1991, and is a decorated Police Sergeant. He has been placed
on paid Administrative Leave – a routine assignment in line with
department policy – while three separate investigations are conducted.
Clearwater Police will conduct an investigation
handled by Criminal Investigations Division detectives, and an
administrative probe conducted by the Office of Professional Standards
(internal affairs). And the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office
will conduct its own investigation.
This is the extent of information available at this
time. Additional details will be released as the investigation
continues. For additional particulars, please contact Public Information
Officer Wayne Shelor at 727-562-4333.
/s/
Wayne Shelor
Public Information Officer