In Leesburg, Lake County, Florida, a case of mistaken identity turned deadly when two deputies knocked on the wrong door.
At about 1:30 a.m., Sunday morning, the deputies were in pursuit of an attempted murder suspect. They followed the suspect, Jonathan Brown, into the Blueberry Hills apartment complex.
The deputies saw Brown’s motorcycle parked outside of a door, so they knocked without identifying themselves, for alleged safety reasons. They were answered by 26-year-old Andrew Lee Scott, who was holding a gun. The deputies then opened fire and killed him. From Wesh.com:
“When we knocked on the door, the door opened and the occupant of that apartment was pointing a gun at deputies, and that’s when we opened fire and killed him,” Lt. John Herrell said. “Even though this subject is not the one we were looking for when he opened the door. He was pointing the gun at the deputy and if you put yourselves in the deputy’s shoes. They were there to pick up someone who was wanted for an attempted homicide.
The bottom line is, you point a gun at a deputy sheriff or police office, you’re going to get shot.”
Here’s the video:
The crime rate in Leesburg is reportedly high, which could be the reason that Scott answered the door holding a gun. He was described as a “nice guy” by his neighbors.
The While Florida’s infamous Stand Your Ground Law gives civilians the authority to shoot when feeling threatened, when police are involved, it is the exact opposite. If one points a gun at a police officer, regardless of whether he is in the right place, he has the right to shoot.
One state, Indiana, has a law that states that it’s legal to shoot a police officer who is illegally on your property.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing and the deputy who pulled the trigger is on administrative leave.
The Sheriff’s office did later apprehend the two attempted murder suspects at a different apartment complex.
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