Details Emerge in St. Pete Officer's Shooting

As a St. Petersburg Police Officer recovers from a gunshot wound to the leg, details in the case that ultimately led to the suspect’s shooting death are starting to emerge.

On Monday morning, the police department released a timeline of events that led up to the death of Austin Lee Goodner, 18, on Sunday evening.

According to the agency, the incident began to unfold around 6 p.m. when Goodner is said to have ridden past Norman Seibert on Coffee Pot Boulevard. Both men were on bicycles at the time and exchanged words. Police say Goodner pulled out a handgun and fired a shot, striking Seibert in the arm. When officers arrived on the scene, they were given a description of Goodner, an email to media from the agency stated.

Knowing Goodner from past arrests, police rode out to his last known address at 5236 Robin Lane N. around 6:45 p.m., the email stated. Goodner’s parents told officers he was not at home.

At that time, however, Officer Matthew Enhoffer saw the teen approach the backyard. Enhoffer confronted him and Goodner pointed his gun at him, the email stated.

“Officer Enhoffer fired twice, but Goodner retreated,” the email said. “It is not known if Goodner was struck at this point.”

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As shots were fired, other officers on the scene came around the side of the house. Goodner is said to have fired and struck Officer Michael Cordiviola in the leg. Cordiviola fired back four times while Officer Brian Lynch dragged Cordiviola to safety, the email stated.

Enhoffer again confronted Goodner and ordered him to drop his gun. Goodner, however, told police to end his life and began to fire more shots at Enhoffer, the email said. The officer fired back, striking Goodner, who was later pronounced dead at Bayfront Health.

Goodner had been arrested several times in the past, police noted, and had a history of mental illness. It is unclear how he obtained the gun and it is also known how many shots were fired in the Robin Lane yard.

As of Monday morning, Cordiviola was recovering at Bayfront Health. He is 40 years old and is a 10-year veteran of the agency and also an Army reservist.

Officers Lynch and Enhoffer have both been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation. Enhoffer joined the agency in 2010, left for a time in 2013, and recently returned. Lynch joined the force in 2010.

Further details are not being released at this time.

2013 booking photo of Austin Goodner courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department

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