Knife-Wielding Man Shot, Killed By Deputy In Sarasota: Sheriff

Updated: 6:10 p.m., Friday

SARASOTA, FL — A deputy serving an eviction notice shot and killed a knife-wielding man at an apartment building in Sarasota Friday morning, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

On Thursday, deputies assigned to the agency’s civil section served a 24-hour eviction notice to a 58-year-old man in the apartment, which is located in the 700 block of South Palm Avenue.

The man formerly lived with the apartment’s owner before his death in September, the sheriff’s office said. Both apartment management and an attorney representing the family of the former owner attempted to have the man moved out before involving law enforcement.

Three civil deputies revisited the apartment on Friday around 9 a.m. to serve the final eviction notice. When they arrived, deputies announced themselves several times, eventually using a key provided by the family’s attorney to enter the apartment, SCSO said.

Deputies tried to convince the man to leave voluntarily. He didn’t comply with their request and brandished a knife. They tried to convince the man to drop his weapon, but he raised the knife and ignored their commands, the sheriff’s office said.

One of the deputies used his agency-issued Taser to try to deescalate the situation, but was unable to subdue the man, who lunged forward. As he lunged, a second deputy fired her agency-issued gun one, the sheriff’s office said.

Deputies immediately performed first aid and CPR on the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect’s identity is being withheld until his family has been notified, SCSO said.

The involved deputy has been placed on routine paid administrative leave pending the results of an investigation. The sheriff’s office conducts its own officer-involved shooting investigations which are led by a group of senior detectives. The results of these investigations are then reviewed by the state attorney’s office.