Ex-boyfriend pointed gun at man's head, later 'neutralized' by Pinellas deputies, police chief says
CLEARWATER, Fla. - A deputy-involved shooting took place in a Clearwater neighborhood, leaving one person dead, officials said.
Residents in the Greenbriar neighborhood woke up before 4 a.m. to police activity outside their front doors. Patrol cars belonging to Pinellas County deputies and Clearwater police lined the streets near Indigo Drive and Forest Drive.
Clearwater Police Chief Dan Slaughter said a woman at 2175 Indigo Drive dialed 911 around 3:38 a.m. to report her ex-boyfriend was at the front door, armed with a handgun. By the time Pinellas County deputies arrived, he had entered the home.
There were two people – a male and female – inside the home when the suspect, identified as 32-year-old Josue Arias, entered. Both occupants retreated into two separate rooms.
"The female resident armed herself with a handgun to defend herself," Chief Slaughter explained during a Tuesday morning press conference. "Mr. Arias continued to disrupt the inside, threaten the residents. Make statements…that he was there for no other good reason than to do violence."
Deputies attempted to make contact with Arias to "defuse the situation," the police chief said.
"At one point, the female occupant was able to come out of the residence. She had a handgun with her," he explained. "She placed it down immediately."
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Slaughter said the woman left behind her cell phone with an open 911 call, allowing deputies to hear what was occurring inside the home.
"The deputies very wisely were able to pick-up that their calling commands were agitating the suspect," Slaughter said, adding that they discontinued those efforts.
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Eventually, Arias came to the front door with the other male occupant.
"And has the handgun, a black revolver as described by the witnesses, pointed at the male occupant’s head," Slaughter described. "He eventually releases that particular person and he is able to get away."
Then, Arias retreated back into the Clearwater home. Through the open call, deputies heard him make comments about refusing to return to prison. Slaughter said Arias had a history of arrests in Pasco County, Hillsborough County, Tampa and Pinellas County.
Pinellas County deputies resumed trying to negotiate with Arias, Slaughter explained, but it was unsuccessful. Then, Arias exited the residence again with a gun in his hand.
He moved about in the patio area, the police chief said, and walked into the yard. Officials said it appeared he was looking for deputies and their locations.
"At which point, the deputies neutralized the target and fired and hit Mr. Arias an unknown amount of times," Slaughter said, noting that the investigation is still in its preliminary stage. "It does not appear that he shot first at the deputies. There was, at some point during the interaction, that we believe Mr. Arias did fire his handgun one or two times. We’re not sure at this point. However, the deputies fired in response to his reckless nature for coming out and looking for basically a firefight."
Arias died at the scene. Slaughter said the entire encounter – from the 911 call to the first shot being fired – lasted 1 hour and 11 minutes.
"There was ample time for Mr. Arias to surrender," Slaughter said. "Unfortunately, this encounter occurred."
He added that detectives believe Arias was using a handgun that was taken from the home and it appears an injunction against Arias was in progress.
The two residents and the four Pinellas County deputies involved are being interviewed as of Tuesday morning. Slaughter said body camera video will be reviewed. The deputies will be placed on paid administrative leave, which is routine, said Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
Use-of-force task force in Pinellas County
Four law enforcement agencies within Pinellas County announced the creation of the Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force, which is an effort to build community trust and reduce any perception of a conflict-of-interest during those types of investigations.
The Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Task Force will take over the investigation. The team will be under Chief Slaughter's command, he said, and is made up of detectives from Clearwater, Pinellas Park and St. Pete.
"The sheriff’s department is not an investigating agency in this," Slaughter noted. "They are not having any type of investigative responsibility other than that we use their forensic processing units to process the scene."