2 Lake City officers back after shooting, 2 still recuperati
2 Lake City officers back after shooting, 2 still recuperating
From Gainesville.com
Quote:
The Lake City Police Department welcomed to work this week two of four officers who have been on paid leave since a standoff with a heavily armed man in September.
The other two officers are still recuperating from gunshot wounds.
All four officers were involved in the Sept. 23 standoff with Jesse Ralph Custer, 27, at his ex-wife's home. When the incident ended, Custer was found inside the bathroom, dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to investigators.
Sgt. Andy Miles, who was not injured, and Officer David Greear, who was injured, returned to work on Monday, according to Capt. John Blanchard. Investigator Mitchell Cline and Sgt. Jason Byrd are continuing to recuperate and not expected to return to work for several weeks or possibly months, Blanchard said.
The officers remained on paid leave until the findings of investigations by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Third Judicial Circuit State Attorney Skip Jarvis were released last week.
Jarvis concluded that the officers “acted appropriately and bravely in their dealing with a very dangerous and volatile situation.”
The standoff began after police got two reports of Custer at his ex-wife's home at 391 NW Irma Ave., even though a domestic violence injunction had been issued the previous day ordering him to stay away from his ex-wife.
A neighbor told police they saw Custer carrying weapons and ammunition into the home. The ex-wife realized Custer was at her home, but instead of confronting him she went to the police department and told officers about the injunction.
Jarvis said the officers went to the home and called Custer on the phone, asking him to step outside to talk to them. Instead, the officers said, Custer began firing on them, wounding the three officers.
Law enforcement officials from many agencies around the region responded to help police handle the situation, according to Jarvis.
In his findings, Jarvis referred to Custer's death as a suicide but noted that, if Custer had survived, he would have been charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, possession of an automatic weapon, possession of a short-barreled shotgun, possession of a destructive device, displaying or using a weapon during a felony, violating a domestic violence injunction and possession of a firearm by someone subject to a domestic violence injunction.
