ST. PETERSBURG, FL - The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) has released body camera footage from an officer-involved shooting that took place on Saturday, March 30 in the Childs Park neighborhood.
According to reports, Officer Andre Sousa returned fire after 28-year-old Germaine Davansha Small after Small fired at him with a 9mm pistol loaded with a 50-round drum of ammunition. During a press conference on Tuesday, April 2, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said that the entire incident unfolded in approximately six minutes.
The incident began around 5:30 p.m. at Shadyside food mart located on 4200 15 Ave S., where video surveillance footage shows Small walking down the sidewalk with a shirt draped over his shoulder. A silver Honda Accord pulls into the driveway of the food mart and Small is seen walking up to the car. After engaging with the occupant of the car, a gunshot is then heard and the car speeds off.
After the shooting, Gualtieri said that Small walked south about a block before stopping at a home on the 1600 block of 42nd Street South, where a partially blind man in his 70s was sitting in his front yard. Small tried to get the man's attention and fired two rounds at the man, who then ran into his home. Police recovered two shell casings and two bullets from the scene.
After that shooting, Small walked south before turning east on 17th Avenue South, where St. Petersburg Police Officer Dale Johnson was parked. Small walked into the yard of a home where a woman yelled at him to leave. Small then walked toward an open lot at 1711 40th St S. Officer Sousa was eastbound on 17th Avenue South when he saw Small in the open lot.
Gualtieri said that when Sousa pulled into the lot, Small ran and pointed the gun at the officer. Gualtieri said that Small fired at Sousa and the dashcam video caught the incident. Small fled behind a house and fired another round. He then ran around the east side of the house and back to the front, where Sousa saw the gun in Small's hand.
Body camera footage shows Sousa firing 13 rounds at Small, with one of those bullets striking him in the head area. Gualtieri said that the shot was "not a penetrating wound" and that Sousa was about 30 feet away from Small when he fired.
Small ran away and dropped his firearm in the driveway before running across 40th Street South, where Officer Johnson and Officer Sousa took him into custody. Gualtieri said that detectives have not yet found a motive for why Small fired at the occupants of the car or the man outside of his house, describing the whole incident as a "random act of violence."
The sheriff expressed his confidence in the way the officers handled the situation, saying, "It's really textbook and it's a credit to the training that they received by the St. Petersburg Police Department and how they handled themselves in this and taking the guy into custody. They both did a great job and thankfully neither one of them were injured."
The officer-involved shooting is still under investigation, but Gualtieri said that it was "absolutely a justified shooting," adding, "They did everything as well as it could be done, and I see no issues or problems with it at all."
On Monday, April 1, Small was released from the hospital and transported to the Pinellas County Jail. He is facing two counts of attempted first-degree murder and felonious possession of a firearm. According to criminal records, he was released from prison on March 2 after serving nine years for armed robbery.
According to reports, Officer Andre Sousa returned fire after 28-year-old Germaine Davansha Small after Small fired at him with a 9mm pistol loaded with a 50-round drum of ammunition. During a press conference on Tuesday, April 2, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said that the entire incident unfolded in approximately six minutes.
The incident began around 5:30 p.m. at Shadyside food mart located on 4200 15 Ave S., where video surveillance footage shows Small walking down the sidewalk with a shirt draped over his shoulder. A silver Honda Accord pulls into the driveway of the food mart and Small is seen walking up to the car. After engaging with the occupant of the car, a gunshot is then heard and the car speeds off.
After the shooting, Gualtieri said that Small walked south about a block before stopping at a home on the 1600 block of 42nd Street South, where a partially blind man in his 70s was sitting in his front yard. Small tried to get the man's attention and fired two rounds at the man, who then ran into his home. Police recovered two shell casings and two bullets from the scene.
After that shooting, Small walked south before turning east on 17th Avenue South, where St. Petersburg Police Officer Dale Johnson was parked. Small walked into the yard of a home where a woman yelled at him to leave. Small then walked toward an open lot at 1711 40th St S. Officer Sousa was eastbound on 17th Avenue South when he saw Small in the open lot.
Gualtieri said that when Sousa pulled into the lot, Small ran and pointed the gun at the officer. Gualtieri said that Small fired at Sousa and the dashcam video caught the incident. Small fled behind a house and fired another round. He then ran around the east side of the house and back to the front, where Sousa saw the gun in Small's hand.
Body camera footage shows Sousa firing 13 rounds at Small, with one of those bullets striking him in the head area. Gualtieri said that the shot was "not a penetrating wound" and that Sousa was about 30 feet away from Small when he fired.
Small ran away and dropped his firearm in the driveway before running across 40th Street South, where Officer Johnson and Officer Sousa took him into custody. Gualtieri said that detectives have not yet found a motive for why Small fired at the occupants of the car or the man outside of his house, describing the whole incident as a "random act of violence."
The sheriff expressed his confidence in the way the officers handled the situation, saying, "It's really textbook and it's a credit to the training that they received by the St. Petersburg Police Department and how they handled themselves in this and taking the guy into custody. They both did a great job and thankfully neither one of them were injured."
The officer-involved shooting is still under investigation, but Gualtieri said that it was "absolutely a justified shooting," adding, "They did everything as well as it could be done, and I see no issues or problems with it at all."
On Monday, April 1, Small was released from the hospital and transported to the Pinellas County Jail. He is facing two counts of attempted first-degree murder and felonious possession of a firearm. According to criminal records, he was released from prison on March 2 after serving nine years for armed robbery.
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Comments
2024-04-07T13:07-0500 | Comment by: Larry
Since he was released on March 2, I would assume that his reason for the attach was that he was trying to get back home to Jail. A .45 probably would not have bounced off...
2024-04-07T13:07-0500 | Comment by: Larry
Since he was released on March 2, I would assume that his reason for the attach was that he was trying to get back home to Jail. A .45 probably would not have bounced off...