FROSTPROOF, Fla. — Polk County deputies shot and killed a man who shot a SWAT team member in the shoulder during a negotiation with the sheriff's office on Friday morning, Sheriff Grady Judd said.
It happened in the area of T.S. Wilson Road near South Scenic Highway (US-17).
Judd said it began in Highlands County, where deputies were chasing the driver of an orange Nissan who refused to stop.
Highlands County deputies were about to cancel the pursuit when they received a 911 call from a woman who said she was being held at gunpoint in the car.
The chase continued into Frostproof until the car lost traction and got caught on a bank on the side of T.S. Wilson Road.
Polk County deputies arrived to find 37-year-old Ramon Martinez in the passenger seat with a woman in the driver's seat. According to Judd, investigators believe Martinez was forcing the woman to drive.
Deputies said they were led to believe there were three people in the car: Martinez, the woman and a baby.
The sheriff's office was told Martinez had two firearms in the car and began negotiating with him for a peaceful surrender. But he refused to get out of the car and began smoking meth, according to Judd.
The sheriff said Martinez asked for water, so deputies replied, "No problem, let the baby and the lady out and we'll give you water."
Martinez refused and instead threw a magazine full of ammo and an unloaded handgun out of the car in hopes of exchanging them for water. He also continuously told the baby to stay calm and keep quiet.
Judd said Martinez was acting "incredibly erratic" and was accusing SWAT team members of being part of a "Mexican cartel that was after him."
"He is high and low and high and low as he continues to smoke meth through the evening," he explained.
Eventually, negotiators convinced Martinez to let the woman out of the car to go get him water. She safely made it out and told deputies that there was actually no baby in the car.
“This was just part of his ruse to keep us at bay," Judd said.
That's when Martinez jumped into the driver's seat and tried to drive away while shooting at the SWAT team, the sheriff explained.
He reportedly shot Deputy Samuel Yates in the shoulder. Yates was also injured in the face by glass from a broken car window. He was transported to the hospital where he is in "excellent condition," according to Judd.
Deputies returned fire, shooting and killing Martinez in a Polk County orange grove.
“We shot Ramon Martinez a lot. We killed him graveyard dead," Judd said. "We gave him exactly what he asked for after negotiating and trying to de-escalate for hours."
"When you have a gunfight with a SWAT team, you lose every time," he continued.
Judd said Martinez and the woman were "friends" but could not say whether or not they were partners. He also said Martinez had a "litany of violent arrests as well as drug arrests."
Deputy Yates has been with the sheriff's office for three years and is expected to recover after surgery on his shoulder.
"After he was shot this morning, he continued staying in the gun fight. That's the kind of man he is, " Judd said.