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| -Lurid Crime Tales- | |
| Florida Police Shot Suspected Cop Killer 68 Times | |
| 2009-03-04 | |
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Officers fired 110 rounds of ammunition at the man suspected of killing a sheriff's deputy, killing the suspect, according to an autopsy released by the sheriff's office. Angilo Freeland -- who was suspected of fatally shooting the deputy after being pulled over for speeding Thursday -- was hit 68 times by the SWAT team members' shots, the examination released Saturday showed.
Freeland's death ended a nearly 24-hour manhunt that forced schools to lock down and families to stay indoors as about 500 officers scoured the woods. The wounded deputy had pulled Freeland over for speeding and became suspicious of his identification. The suspect got nervous and bolted into the woods, officials said. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he was not concerned by the number of shots fired. "You have to understand, he had already shot and killed a deputy, he had already shot and killed a K-9 and he shot and injured another deputy," Judd said by phone Saturday. "Quite frankly, we weren't taking any chances." Ten SWAT officers surrounded Freeland on Friday as he hid beneath brush and a fallen tree in a rural area. Authorities say he raised the gun belonging to the deputy he had killed, prompting nine officers to fire. "I suspect the only reason 110 rounds was all that was fired was that's all the ammunition they had," Judd said. "We were not going to take any chance of him shooting back." Also released Saturday were autopsy results for the deputy, Vernon Matthew Williams, 39, which showed he had been shot eight times. He was not wearing a protective vest, but shots hit him in his right leg and behind his right ear, among other places. Diogi, his German shepherd police dog, was also killed. The dog had been shot once in the chest. Authorities said deputy sheriff Doug Speirs, also 39, was fired at several times and shot once in the leg. A sergeant and an officer from the Lakeland Police Department were also fired at, authorities said. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #21 He shot a deputy and his dog. If he'd had any remorse in his soul, he'd have surrendered right then. |
| Posted by: rammer 2009-03-04 21:29 |
| #20 they should hit a nerby gun stoe and bought more bullets |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-03-04 19:31 |
| #19 I wonder if Springsteen will do a song about it? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-03-04 16:01 |
| #18 Pity stayed his hand. "It's a pity I've run out of bullets," Dildo thought. Bored of the Rings, Lampoon Press, 1969 Also reminds me of the story about NYPD murder of an unarmed immigrant who was reaching for ID as requested by police. 7 out of 43. Good shootin', Tex. |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2009-03-04 15:57 |
| #17 he bwas the right one they found him hiding in the wood he fled intowhich was very thick and was also hiding in the brush. who gives a damn how manytimes they shot him he's dead and good riddance |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-03-04 15:07 |
| #16 This actually happened Sept. 29, 2006. Background... Freeland's family called on Florida Governor Jeb Bush to appoint an independent, unbiased investigator, because they claimed that the Polk County Sheriff's Office, which reviewed the shooting by an internal investigation, was biased due to the death of Deputy Williams. They argued, based on the number of shots fired and Deputy Judd's remarks, that the police used to much force and that they should have made more of an effort to take Angilo alive. Joyce Freeland, Angilo's mother stated that "All we want is for all questions surrounding why this happened to be answered." In response, Assistant State Attorney Chip Thullbery stated that "I think their concerns are misplaced. I believe that there will be a thorough investigation of all the incidents and that our office will do a thorough, independent and impartial review of that investigation." His family claimed Angilo was not involved in any illicit activity. However, his home was the subject of an ongoing drugs and weapons investigation at the time of the shooting. When authorities searched his house, they recovered several firearms including an AK-47 assault rifle, an SKS assault rifle and a .380-caliber handgun. Police also uncovered a journal in when Freeland wrote about going out "in a moment of Bezerk madness, forcing the enemy to play the end game before it is time." In December 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)asked the FBI to review the shooting of Freeland after the department received a letter from the Florida Civil Rights Association, which called Freeland's shooting "profoundly disturbing." The FBI subsequently announced they would investigate whether authorities used excessive force in the incident. In June 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced it had cleared the Polk County Sheriff's Office of any wrongdoing in the incident, stating: "After careful consideration, we concluded that the evidence does not establish a prosecutable violation of the federal civil rights statutes. Accordingly, we have closed our investigation." In a report dated June 14, 2007, Gabrielle Finley of Ledger.com published that "The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said today that area law enforcement agencies have arrested 19 people in Orange and Hernando counties who were connected with Angilo Freeland in a street-level drug trafficking operation. Freeland is the man deputies say shot and killed Deputy Matt Williams and his K-9 Diogi last September following a traffic stop. In a press conference today, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said Freeland served as an assassin in the drug operation. Officials suspect him of killing up to 15 people in Latin America for not paying their drug debts. They are unsure if he killed anyone in Florida, but are still investigating that angle. Freeland was “pure evil in the flesh,” Judd said." The investigations had been facilitated directly via a cellphone found on Freeland's body. Burn in hell, Angilo... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-03-04 12:42 |
| #15 Diogi, cute name. D-O-G RIP Officer and pooch. Well, if the guy raised the gun of the slain deputy - I'd say they got the right dude. |
| Posted by: Andy Ulusoque aka Broadhead6 2009-03-04 09:47 |
| #14 Enuf of the snarky comments, where's a useful tip for the POLICE! :) |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-03-04 09:46 |
| #13 Recividism rate for Angilo...0%. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-03-04 09:38 |
| #12 It never hurts to be thorough. (Mayor) As mayor of the Munchkin City In the county of the land of Oz I welcome you most regally (Judge) But we've got to verify it legally To see... (Mayor) To see... (Judge) If she... (Mayor) If she... (Judge) Is morally, ethically (Munchkin 1) Spiritually, physically (Munchkin 2) Positively, absolutely (Munchkin Men) Undeniably and reliably dead! (Coroner) As Coroner, I thoroughly examined her And she's not only merely dead, She's really most sincerely dead |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2009-03-04 09:33 |
| #11 Don't they realize there's an ammunition shortage? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-03-04 09:32 |
| #10 They really hoped they could've had a talk with him facing a death penatly. Posted by: Don Vito Anginegum8261 They can "talk with him" all they want. His veracity certainly won't be an issue. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-03-04 07:33 |
| #9 Just to remind you people this story is from 2006. Locally there are still a lot of "We Remember Matt and Diogi" bumper stickers around since Matt was a local boy. IIRC the perp was a Miami drug dealer whose death was met with much grief by drug enforcement officers. They really hoped they could've had a talk with him facing a death penatly. |
| Posted by: Don Vito Anginegum8261 2009-03-04 07:14 |
| #8 Yeesh. I wouldn't want to be one of the folks who had to clean up the mess. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-03-04 04:18 |
| #7 Better than 50% hit rate, on a likely non-static target (at first, anyway) that had the ability to return fire. So, two points: 1. Good shooting, boys. 2. Hope like hell he was the right guy. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2009-03-04 03:59 |
| #6 Sounds like they were able to hit their target repeatedly. Marksmanship classes are payin' off. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2009-03-04 03:50 |
| #5 "I suspect the only reason 110 rounds was all that was fired was that's all the ammunition they had," Sounds about right. In that situation I would fire all I had, too. Sounds like they need marksmanship training, though. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2009-03-04 03:19 |
| #4 Considering they were probably packing rifles by that time, they didn't even empty the mags on them. Probably had to take extreme care to not have friendly fire problems. |
| Posted by: tipover 2009-03-04 01:40 |
| #3 "Suspected cop-killer" Now that he has been so thoroughly ventilated, I sincerely hope he was the actual cop-killer. Note also the link to an earlier story: "Florida Authorities Kill Armed Gunman Who Shot Cop to Death" I guess it wouldn't do to shoot an unarmed gunman. |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2009-03-04 01:36 |
| #2 9 officers, most of which had automatic weapons if I remember this right, fire 110 rounds. That's just 12 rounds each. And considering they hit him 68 times is pretty good shooting for cops. |
| Posted by: Silentbrick 2009-03-04 00:46 |
| #1 Police nullification of jury nullification. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-03-04 00:44 |