Posted on 07/30/2013 3:23:16 AM PDT by Wolfie
Roy Middleton, Unarmed Florida Man, Shot By Police In Own Driveway While Retrieving Cigarettes From Car
Florida law enforcement officials are investigating reports that an unarmed man was shot by police in his own driveway while retrieving cigarettes from his mother’s car.
Roy Middleton, a 60-year-old resident of Warrington, Fla., was shot in the leg by Escambia County sheriff’s deputies on Saturday, the Pensacola News Journal reports. The shooting reportedly took place on Middleton’s driveway, as he attempted to retrieve a cigarette from his mother’s car. That’s when police arrived on the scene, investigating a report of a possible vehicle break-in, Fox 10 reports.
Middleton claims that he was searching the car for a loose cigarette when he heard someone say, “Get your hands where I can see them,” the News Journal reports. The 60-year-old initially thought a neighbor was playing a joke on him, but he turned to find Escambia County police standing with guns drawn.
The 60-year-old says that he exited his mother’s car with his arms raised, but police opened fire anyway, the News Journal reports. “It was like a firing squad,” Middleton told the paper. “Bullets were flying everywhere.”
Middleton remains in a local hospital and reportedly faces several weeks of recovery. “I’m just glad they didn’t hit me here or here,” he told the News Journal, indicating his chest and head. “My mother’s car is full of bullet holes though.”
“He was just coming home like he usually does. I don’t understand why they had to use so much force under the situation,” Middleton’s mother, Ceola Walker, told Fox 10. “I don’t understand how they could fire so many shots at him. He wasn’t resisting or anything and he was at his own house.”
Middleton added that he doesn’t understand what caused officers to perceive him as a threat and shoot him. “Even if they thought the car was stolen, all they had to do was run the license plate,” Middleton told the News Journal. “They would have seen that that car belonged there.”
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the Middleton shooting Saturday, but the incident is currently being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the News Journal reports. The deputies responsible for shooting Middleton have reportedly been placed on administrative leave.
Must've been an SUV. Trying to stop global warming, dontcha know.
Have they found a “throw down piece” yet?
LLS
TRUTH!
So what? What if he wanted to sit there, in his car, in his driveway for hours? Would you call the cops on your neighbor if he did that?
Did the 911 dispatcher tell the police officers to stay in their cruiser? Did the cigarettes have a high concentration of black tar in them?
Victim was black, cops were (unknown). I hope he sues the crap out of the county.
If I were rooting around in my car in my driveway in the middle of the night for something and I heard a voice behind me authoritatively bark something at me I probably wouldn't understand what was said- I have hearing issues. It would have startled me and I would come out of the car fast. I'm then faced with maybe armed people at close range- but I can't see them well, because my night vision was lost from being under the dome light. If they're shining a Maglight in my face it's worse- I'm effectively blind.
I agree- more details are needed, but this appears to be a serious screw up on the part of the cops.
The “so what” is, something’s wrong with this story.
60 year old men usually have some hearing loss for quick word recognition from behind.
Roid rage and "officer safety" would explain the shooting, and the seriously low performance in thinking and shooting skills are standard for the "new cops", no longer Peace Officers.
Cowardice explains the rest.
It may be time to disarm cops.
Well I guess the good news here is that no pet dogs were shot and killed.
Somebody’s gonna own a police dept.
I’m color free on this. Criminals are criminals despite color. The problem with Martin is he became a criminal when he pounded Zimmerman into the concrete. It, according to Rush, was an anti gay hate crime by Martin who told the girl on the phone that he was being followed by a faggot.
But of course the MSM won’t let a black ‘saint’ be accused of ‘homophobia’. (There is no such thing. No fear(phobia) of queers just disgust)
Here’s a comforting quote from Sheriff David Morgan’s press conference:
“As much as we are trained and as much as officers - which have Type A personalities - like to say we are in control, we are not,” Morgan said.
I hate Pigs.
I can and often do putter around my cars in the driveway. Cop pulls up and questions my activity he better have a good reason.
I know a lot of Cops. And almost all of them are lousy shots. They don't practice as often as they should. But maybe that's a good thing.
FWIW, here’s the transcript of the 911 call (2:38 AM) via one of the links in the original article.
I guess everybody in that neighborhood is just settling down for the night at 2:38 AM — closing blinds, having a smoke.
Here’s where it goes wrong I think:
Dispatch: You said you heard him trying to crank it up?
Caller: Uh, yes… He keeps ducking down underneath the dashboard, trying to reach for something.
Dispatch: O.K., and you’ve never seen him before, right?
Caller: No.
Yes, but if he LUNGED at the cops (according to the other story), then he was what...8-10 feet away?
I say they were TRYING to shoot the car because it had been seen emitting CO2 and he just got in the way.
Real life. Hunting for lost coins, smokes, pens or whatever in the car can take time. I once spent 10-15 minuets trying to snaggle a dime that had gone under my car seat.
This is why Sherriff Taylor only gave Barney one bullet, and made him carry it in his pocket.
One of the sad things here is that they filled his mothers car full of bullets and only hit this man once. WTF were they shooting at? This man is so lucky that the cops couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn standing on the inside.
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