Fla. Deputies Shot at Unarmed Man 133 Times

Officer.com ^ | 02/25/2010 | Officer.com

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

ORLANDO, Fla. --

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has wrapped up its investigation into the deadly shooting of an unarmed auto theft suspect last month.

Deputies said Torey Breedlove refused their commands to give up, and rammed their vehicles to escape, so they unleashed a hail of gunfire.

Residents in the Alta Westgate apartments had bullets fly through walls and glass doors, they said this was unnecessary force.

Two sources from within the Sheriff's department told WESH 2 that 133 shots were fired. One deputy alone fired 42 times and reloaded twice.

The incident has caused a call for a change in policy.

The Florida Civil Rights Association is calling on Sheriff Jerry Demings to ban deputies from firing at a moving vehicle if the only deadly force threat is the vehicle itself

Jenicka Dowdie said the lives of innocent residents were put in danger by Orange County deputies who shot and killed auto theft suspect Torey Breedlove.

"Our kids could have gotten killed, Dowdie said.

When the shooting started, resident Lisa Buchhold says she dove for cover and protected her son. Buchhold said the number of shots were excessive, but necessary.

"He kept squealing his tires and kept pushing the cop car backwards. At one point, they asked the guy to get out of the vehicle but the car never stopped," Buchhold said.

One of the deputies involved, Randall Root, has been transferred. Eight others are on administrative leave.

FDLE assistant special agent in charge Danny Banks will not confirm how many, but says the FDLE knows who fired, how many times and where those shots went.

"What we have done is look at each deputy individually, how many rounds were fired, was that deputy justified in every single one of those rounds," Banks said.

Residents like Dowdie said the sheriff's department needs to be able to make arrests like this without what appears to be an excess of force and gunplay that puts innocent people's lives in danger.

"I feel like they do need to change their policy," Dowdie said. "More than one person could have died."

Some sources within the sheriff's office are in favor of disbanding this current group of auto theft and auto trap deputies.

[dfwgator]

Sounds like the deputies need to get some serious practice time at the shooting range.

[nickcarraway]

Are they related to Johannes Mehserle?

[Past Your Eyes]

And maybe carry more ammo.

[Michael.SF.]

133 shots? What a waste of ammo, sounds like those boys need to spend more time at the range.

[driftdiver]

face it, if you run from cops and let them get you stopped you might as well give up. One of them will step in front of your moving car and then shoot you for assaulting them with your car.

[OldDeckHand]

Apparently, a 4K lb projectile doesn't count towards "being armed", in the limited mind of this reporter.

If you're using your vehicle as a weapon, then you are clearly armed and lethally dangerous.

[yarddog]

I don’t blame them for shooting him but it does sound like the cops went into some kind of blood lust. Shooting that many times in a public area really is a dangerous thing to do.

[earlJam]

Sounds like roid rage. I think they all need to get their testosterone levels checked.

[Michael.SF.]

I need to learn to type faster!

[Blue Jays]

Torey Breedlove might have needed shootin'!

[RinaseaofDs]

“One deputy alone fired 42 times and reloaded twice.”

Sounds like it’s been awhile since that deputy’s had his ashes hauled.

Too much coffee?

I don’t know.

[theDentist]

How many times was suspect shot? Anyone know?

[nmh]

Over kill isn’t necessary.

Aim properly and get the job done.

[Popman]

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has wrapped up its investigation into the deadly shooting of an unarmed auto theft suspect last month.

Torey Breedlove refused their commands to give up, and rammed their vehicles to escape,

He was armed with a deadly weapon, a vehicle that weighted a couple thousand pounds.

[The Magical Mischief Tour]

Seems Florida Deputies luv to throw rounds... Jacksonville FL deputy suspended 5 days: shoots 2 cars & house chasing suspect Deputy Suspended For Chase, Shooting Internal Affairs Found Officer Violated JSO Policies POSTED: Thursday, October 8, 2009 UPDATED: 7:05 pm EDT October 8, 2009 Officer Jose Gonzalez was disciplined for firing shots at 17-year-old Kenneth Drotar on Nov. 24, 2008. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office deputy was suspended for five days for wrongly firing shots and violating car chase protocol in the hunt for a robbery suspect. Jose Gonzalez fired 10 shots at a 17-year-old suspected of robbing two women. The officer's bullets hit a home and two uninvolved vehicles, but missed his target. The internal affairs investigation report obtained by The Florida Times-Union also found Gonzalez wrongly tried to take the lead in the chase of a car on Butler Boulevard last November. According to the report, Sheriff John Rutherford says in it that Gonzalez "fired a total of 10 rounds, all from inside of his car." The sheriff says in the report that for Gonzalez to "shoot from a moving vehicle does not meet JSO criteria." Rutherford goes on to say in the report that his shots "struck two uninvolved cars and a house ... and that the authority to use deadly force on a fleeing felon does not outweigh the safety of other officers and citizens." Video: Sheriff: Officer Violated Policies Another officer was already filling the lead role in the pursuit and had radioed that he would lay tire-puncturing sticks ahead of the suspect. Gonzalez tried to pass the lead officer to perform the same task until he was finally ordered to stand down. The report also says Gonzalez cut off another officer "when the suspect made a U-turn on Beach Boulevard." The suspect, Kenneth Drotar, later surrendered and was taken into custody. Cedrick Smith, 20, who also ran from the car that crashed after running over the stop sticks on Cortez Road, was shot and killed when police said he pointed what turned out to be a BB gun at officers. http://www.news4jax.com/news/21237099/detail.html

[MplsSteve]

Wow, when I first read the caption on this story, I thought “i wonder if this happened in Lee County?”.

This type of thing would be right up the alley of many a Lee County Sheriff’s Deputy.

[maine yankee]

In a formal press release, the Coroner’s office stated;

“worst case of lead poisoning I’ve ever seen

[Berlin_Freeper]

It’s like a bad hair day. Sometimes you just can’t get it right.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

What the Hell were they doing, closing their eyes? It’s a good thing they didn’t have any full auto stuff!