Review Board Concludes Shooting By St. Pete Officers Justified

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- A St. Petersburg Police Department Command Review Board has concluded that the Oct. 25 shooting of Timothy Earl Jackson, 33, by police officers was justified.

The board handed down its decision Monday, March 12. The PInellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office previously determined that the shooting was justified.

However, the review board noted that two officers did not follow proper procedures for the department’s pursuit policy and the deployment of stop sticks. Both officers will receive discipline and/or training for failure to follow set guidelines.

Around 12:50 a.m. on Oct. 25, Officer Andre Sousa, a three-year member of the department, spotted a white pickup truck at 5th Avenue South and 34th Street South that matched the description of a truck that had been carjacked on Oct. 23.

While he followed the truck, Officer Brock Jensen deployed stop sticks (devices designed to stop a vehicle by deflating its tires) on 34th Street South, near 15th Avenue.

The pickup's tire hit the stop sticks and began deflating but Jackson kept driving, turning into an alley near 2900 6th Ave. S.

Jackson then got out of the truck and fired his gun at Sousa, striking his marked patrol car. Sousa returned fire. By that time, Officer Matthew Laliberte, a 10-year veteran of the department, had arrived to provide backup and also returned fire.

Jackson died at the scene.
Image via St. Petersburg Police