Deputy Run Over By Stolen Vehicle, Shots Fired At Suspect: Manatee County Sheriff

PALMETTO, FL — After a deputy was run over by a stolen vehicle in Palmetto Tuesday night, responding deputies and officers fired at the suspect, according to a news release from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

MCSO is investigating the deputy-involved shooting, which happened while the sheriff’s office was assisting the Palmetto Police Department with a stolen vehicle case in the 700 block of 17th Street W.

Palmetto police received information about a stolen vehicle in the area around 10 p.m. and deputies responded for backup, the sheriff’s office said.

When two deputies arrived, they saw Palmetto police officers with their guns drawn and giving verbal commands for the driver to get out of the vehicle.

A uniformed deputy in a marked patrol vehicle parked in front of the stolen vehicle with the emergency lights on and got out on the driver’s side with their gun also drawn, according to MCSO. The driver continued to ignore law enforcement’s commands and drove their vehicle toward the second uniformed deputy standing nearby.

While trying to get out of the way of the moving vehicle, the deputy was run over by the suspect, the sheriff’s office said.

Gunfire erupted as deputies and officers shot at the suspect, the agency added.

About 70 yards away, the suspect, later identified as 38-year-old Randall Gray, crashed the stolen vehicle into a tree. He crawled out of the vehicle and ran before K9 deputies caught him and he was arrested a short while later, MCSO said.

The injured deputy, who was shot in the legs, was brought to a local hospital and later released.
Randall Gray, a longtime convicted felon, is charged with attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. Additional charges are pending, the sheriff’s office said.

During the incident, Gray’s hand was injured, while a passenger in his vehicle was uninjured and was cooperative with law enforcement.

Gray was out on bond from Sumter County, Florida, for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and other charges at the time he was caught in a stolen car in Manatee County.

"We are very fortunate the deputy survived this unnecessary act of violence committed against him while he was simply doing his job. It's disturbing this habitual convicted felon was out on our streets and able to commit more crimes," Sheriff Rick Wells said.

The deputy who fired shots is now on routine paid administrative leave while an investigation into the shooting, and an internal investigation is conducted.