Port Richey Mayor Arrested After Shooting At SWAT Team: Sheriff

PORT RICHEY, FL -- The mayor of Port Richey has been taken into custody after firing a gun at a Pasco County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team, according to Sheriff Chris Nocco. Nocco said the team was trying to serve a search warrant on behalf of the Florida Attorney General's Office.

Port Richey Mayor Dale "Doc" Massad, 68, is currently in the Land O' Lakes Detention Center where he is being held without bond on multiple charges of premeditated attempted murder.

Nocco said the shooting occurred when his office was tasked with serving a search warrant issued by the Attorney General's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on charges of practicing medicine without a license.

He said he enlisted additional SWAT Team members to serve the warrant because he was aware that Massad owned several guns and he had reportedly declared he was not going back to jail.

Massad made that statement in August 2018 after he was released from jail on domestic violence charges against his then-live-in girlfriend, Caj Joseph.

In an interview with WFTS TV, Massad said, “The main thing I learned from the jail is I don't want to go back.”

Nocco said the SWAT Team assembled at Massad's home at 8221 Hayward Lane at 4:40 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 21. Sheriff's Sgt. William Lindsey knocked on the door and announced it was the sheriff's office five times with no results.

Deputy Nick Carmack then used a ram on the door three or four times but was unable to breach the door. So Cpl. G. McKnight fired a shotgun at the front door lock, opened the door and placed a "distraction device" inside that emitted a loud "bang" sound and a bright, flashing light.

That's when deputies heard a firearm discharge twice inside the home and took cover behind the SWAT Team's command vehicle. No one was injured and the SWAT Team did not shoot back.

The SWAT Team shined a light from the command vehicle into the home and saw Massad with a gun in his left hand and a cell phone in the other walking around a room on the second floor.

The sheriff said the team was about to use tear gas to force the occupants of the home to come out when Massad gave himself up.

The search warrant was for Massad's personal computer and other evidence of him practicing medicine without a license.

According to the arrest affidavit, the FDLE received a tip that Massad, a retired medical doctor, was diagnosing and treating injuries and illnesses without a license. Massad relinquished his medical license in 1992, according to the Board of Medicine.

According to the arrest affidavit, an informant went to Massad, pretending to have an injury to his left knee. Massad reportedly prescribed a medication to inject into the tendon.

Another informant said Massad removed a fish spine from his lower left back and gave him a Cortisone injection.

The FDLE also had testimony from a person who said Massad performed a surgical procedure on his ankle during which he administered a local anesthetic and sutured the laceration.

And a witness told officials that he saw Massad ordering multiple prescriptions through the Internet.

Nocco doesn't think Massad was motivated to give medical assistance from a sense of compassion for others. He called him a drug dealer and user and said, "He was probably on drugs when we entered the house."

After he was arrested, Massad claimed he fired his gun because he thought his life was being threatened. He said he didn't realize it was the sheriff's office outside his home.

Nocco, however, said the SWAT team announced itself so loudly that six neighbors came out of their homes to see what was happening. Another resident of the house, Thomas Crawford, whose bedroom is next to Massad's, said he clearly heard the SWAT Team announcing itself.

"We know he (Massad) heard us," said Nocco.

According to Massad's Facebook page, he is originally from Lawton, Oklahoma, and attended the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. Before retiring, he worked at Mease Countryside Hospital.

He first became involved in Port Richey politics in 2000 when he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the city council. He continued serving on the city council off and on until 2015 when he was elected mayor to fill the seat vacated by former Mayor Eloise Taylor.

In addition to his arrest in August, Massad was accused in 2008 of sexually assaulting an ex-girlfriend. He also made the news in 2009 when a handgun was stolen from his pickup truck and used by a man to commit suicide.

Nevertheless, those who know Massad describe him as affable and well-liked.

"He's as friendly as you can imagine; he's good-hearted; he cares about the city," said Port Richey City Councilman Richard Bloom.

Massad lives in a 3,213-square-foot waterfront home on Miller Bayou that he now has on the market for $338,700.

There's been no word from the Port Richey City Council on Massad's status as mayor. Terrence Rowe serves as vice mayor of the city. The next city council meeting is Feb. 26. A city or county official can be suspended from office by the Florida governor if the official has been arrested for criminal activity and removed from office if convicted. However, the official can be reinstated if he or she is found not guilty.

Image via Realtor.com

Image via City of Port Richey

From left are Mayor Dale Massad; Councilman Richard Bloom; Vice Mayor Terrence Rowe; Councilwoman Jennie Sorrell; Not Pictured is Councilman William Dittmer.

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