POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The Polk County Sheriff‘s office has released more information about the woman shot and killed by a deputy Thursday.
They say she has an "extensive" record of violent crime and drug use, but the circumstances of the deadly confrontation are raising questions among the community.
The woman killed is identified as 24-year-old Jessiram Hweih Rivera. The sheriff’s office says Rivera had a criminal record that includes aggravated assault, aggravated battery, drug possession and battery on a law enforcement officer.
But there’s no indication the deputy involved knew that at the time.
Now, some community activists say they want more answers and information in Thursday’s deadly shooting–where investigators say Rivera was armed with a shovel.
“To me, it doesn’t seem like an even fight,” Pastor Clayton Cowart said. His organization, the Poor and Minority Justice Association, has long advocated for civil and racial justice.
"How bad was this? You know? You’re trying to picture it," Cowart said. "And that an officer had to shoot a lady? And all that kind of that bothers me."
Pastor Cowart’s organization has – in years past – also intervened on behalf of people like Caroline Small, a white woman shot to death by police in Georgia.
Rivera’s case, they say, also has their attention.
"It’s not a white thing or a black thing," Cowart said. "It’s the right thing."
Investigators say Rivera had been acting suspiciously, walking in and out of traffic in Winter Haven.
RELATED: Polk County Sheriff's Office says sergeant shot and killed woman who came at him with a shovel
When confronted by Sgt. Sean Speakman, they say Rivera raised a shovel, pointed it at the deputy and started advancing toward him.
Authorities say Speakman then fired four shots, killing Rivera.
"I can’t imagine in my mind; someone being shot over a shovel," Cowart said. "I don’t see, how could that be life-threatening to the officer? Maybe there’s something I’m missing...but that raises a big question."
Since last summer’s Black Lives Matter demonstrations, several Tampa Bay area law enforcement agencies have adopted policies using less-lethal weapons. Others rely more now on mental health partners to deescalate situations. And while several have added body cameras to increase transparency, that’s something the Polk County Sheriff’s Office has been reluctant to do.
"If we had a way of seeing it, cameras or something, it would’ve given us some kind of – maybe the officer was justified," Cowart said. "But right now, we don’t know."
Sheriff Grady Judd has often defended his deputies’ use of force when threatened.
A spokesman for the Polk County Sheriff's Office says the sheriff is out of town and unable to address this latest shooting until Sunday or Monday.
Pastor Cowart says his organization will be pressing the sheriff’s office for more information and answers.
Sgt. Speakman has been with the Polk Sheriff’s Office since 1998. They say he first joined their IT unit and later became a sworn deputy in 2005. Speakman was promoted to sergeant in 2015.
Sgt. Speakman has been placed on administrative leave, which is considered standard procedure in such cases.