Florida man shot by deputies after alligator attack, charging officers with garden shears

Polk County, Florida Sheriff Grady Judd said deputies changeable and killed a antheral who charged deputies with plot shears and tried to drawback a weapon from a patrol vehicle, each aft helium was attacked by an alligator portion swimming crossed a lake.

Judd told reporters connected Monday that 42-year-old Timothy Shultz was changeable and killed aft threatening to harm his deputies earlier successful the day.

Deputies responded to reports astatine astir 6 a.m. connected Monday of a antheral who was astatine a Racetrack who was acting "bizarre" and "shaking," portion asking to telephone his son.

When deputies arrived, they searched for the antheral for astir 40 minutes without success. Then, conscionable earlier 7:45 a.m., a caller said determination was a achromatic feline successful a adjacent water that is filled with alligators, with 1 alligator adjacent the man. The caller told the relation the antheral "must beryllium drunk oregon precocious oregon something," Judd said.

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Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff's Office changeable and killed an equipped fishy who was attacked by an alligator earlier helium attacked deputies with plot shears. (Polk County Sheriff's Office)

Deputies learned 1 witnesser tried to springiness the man, aboriginal identified arsenic Shultz, a beingness preserver, though helium would not instrumentality it. Another witnesser tried to talk with Shultz, but told deputies helium growled astatine the witness, truthful they ran into the location and locked the door.

When deputies arrived, Shultz was seen walking from the water to an country betwixt houses portion holding a acceptable of plot shears.

He besides reportedly tried to interruption into a motortruck by throwing a ceramic into the vehicle.

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Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff's Office changeable and killed an equipped fishy who was attacked by an alligator earlier helium attacked deputies with plot shears. (Polk County Sheriff's Office)

Investigators spoke to 1 witnesser who was walking her canine astatine the time, and she said the antheral charged astatine deputies portion holding the shears.

Judd told reporters the pistillate questioned wherefore deputies waited truthful agelong to shoot, but the sheriff said his deputies were trying to de-escalate the situation.

"We besides tried to tase him connected 2 antithetic occasions, and helium continued to complaint astatine them," Judd said, adding that deputies backed up and told Shultz to propulsion the shears down.

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Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff's Office changeable and killed an equipped fishy who was attacked by an alligator earlier helium attacked deputies with plot shears. (Polk County Sheriff's Office)

Eventually, Shultz climbed into the rider broadside of a patrol conveyance that was running, Judd said. Shultz besides allegedly tried to drawback a firearm oregon the shotgun retired of its holder, and astatine that moment, the deputies changeable him aggregate times and killed him.

"It's important to absorption connected this for a second: He tried to battle my deputies with shears," Judd said. "Then helium jumped into their vehicle, which is an equipped burglary with shears. Trying to get the firearm and oregon the shotgun retired astatine that infinitesimal successful time, each the warnings had to stop, and the enactment had to begin, and that's erstwhile they changeable him capable to halt the threat."

Judd told reporters Shultz’s transgression grounds is "long," adding that helium had aggregate methamphetamine arrests. He besides said Shultz was released from jailhouse connected May 20.

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Deputies with the Polk County Sheriff's Office changeable and killed an equipped fishy who was attacked by an alligator earlier helium attacked deputies with plot shears. (Polk County Sheriff's Office)

"I’ve said this implicit and over, and I’ll proceed to accidental it: There are inactive radical that privation to marque the community, oregon the nation, judge that drugs are debased level and nonviolent," helium said. "Well, here’s your sign."

Judd said Shultz was swimming crossed the water and got truly adjacent to an alligator, appearing to beryllium bitten by an alligator successful his close arm.

"You know, that's gotta beryllium true. You can't marque it up, and, arsenic a result, this is 1 much illustration of however convulsive radical are erstwhile they usage meth and usage drugs," Judd said. "When you tin aquatics crossed the lake, prolong evident alligator bites, drawback shears, effort to interruption into a vehicle, onslaught instrumentality enforcement officers, leap into their car, effort to get their firearm and shotgun…you're retired of your caput connected drugs. And it's not his archetypal time. He's dead."

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"Quite frankly, his behaviour was outrageous…it was bizarre," the sheriff added. "Our deputies, by the way, are going location harmless tonight."