LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Six Florida police officers fatally shot a 71-year-old man who fired a gun into the air and shouted racial slurs at his neighbors Thursday night several hours before a confrontation with law enforcement outside his home.
The incident unfolded Thursday night in Lakeland, which is between Orlando and Tampa in central Florida.
Police said in a news release that officers made continuous requests for Jerry Roach to come out of his home. During a phone conversation with negotiators, Roach declared he was “coming out and officers would have to kill him.”
The report says Roach stepped outside, armed with a shotgun even though officers had asked him numerous times to leave the home without it. He refused additional demands to drop the shotgun and continued toward the officers. Six of them fired simultaneously. The report didn’t say how many times Roach was struck..
The officers started CPR, but he died at 11:20 p.m. Thursday at a hospital.
The report identified the officers as Camilo Almeida, Nick Harrison, Travis Miller, Sean Mulderrig, Raj Patel and John Renew. The report didn’t list the race of the officers. Roach was white.
The officers are all on paid administrative leave pending an investigation. An independent review of the shooting also will be conducted by the state attorney’s office.
Roach was a convicted felon and was prohibited from having a firearm.
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