PLANT CITY, Fla. — Banging and shouting outside a worship center early Tuesday morning in Plant City eventually led to a man armed with a railroad spike being shot by Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies, Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
Body cam video released hours after the shooting showed deputies ordering the man to drop the object before he was shot.
The incident started around 2:23 a.m. at a worship center near South Frontage Drive and North Park Road just off Interstate 4. Chronister said several priests were jolted awake after a man reportedly started banging on the windows. He was also reportedly shouting that he would kill them.
The man's aggressive actions prompted a call for deputies to respond. When they arrived at the worship center, Chronister said the man was behind a tall wrought iron fence that surrounded the prayer center.
The sheriff described the man as acting erratic, including groaning and mimicking the movements of a gorilla. He also reportedly had a "sharp object" — later identified as a railroad spike — in his hand.
After deputies arrived, Chronister said they immediately tried to de-escalate the situation. Instead of listening to deputies, the sheriff said the man approached the gate and kicked it several times, each time retreating and then lunging back at the fence. As he did, deputies reportedly backed away while still trying to get the man to calm down and put down the railroad spike.
Eventually, the man kicked the gate open and started getting "dangerously" close to deputies, who were retreating onto the access road. During this time, deputies reportedly tried using a bola wrap, a nonlethal device used to subdue people, and a taser. The nonlethal options were rendered "useless" in stopping him, Chronister said.
The sheriff said the deputies quickly ran out of room to retreat due to the barrier separating Frontage Drive and I-4.
Once the man got "too close" to deputies, Chronister said his deputies had "no choice" but to protect their lives and shoot the man. Two of the three deputies fired their weapons: Deputy Robert Sanchez, 43, a 17-year veteran; and Deputy Jacob St. John, 27, who'd only been on the job for 10 months.
After the man was shot, Chronister said deputies kicked the railroad spike away from the man's grasp, handcuffed him and then performed "life-saving measures" until EMS arrived. The man died from his gunshot wounds at the scene, Chronister said.
“Today our deputies showed extraordinary professionalism and great restraint as they exhausted every option to preserve this individual’s life prior to this fatal outcome,” Chronister said during a news conference.
Chronister said the reverends didn't know who the man was. His identity is still unknown at this time.
The deputies who fired their guns have been placed on paid administrative leave per protocol. Chronister said Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez and her team were on the scene conducting their own investigation regarding the deputies' actions.
Chronister commended his deputies for their work and said the body camera footage captured during this call would likely be used in future training for the department due to the deputies' conduct.
“I think we will end up using this [body cam] video as an instructional video for deputies, law enforcement for years to come,” Chronister said. “When I stand here and tell you how proud I am of the men and women of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office it almost becomes desensitized because I say it so often.”
None of the deputies involved were hurt.