They just had something like that down around Orlando, aerated the vehicle with over 100 rounds. TV stations were interviewing the local residents who were all righteously indignant because they heard so many rounds go off and "so close to the apartment buildings". High marks for Sheriff Demings, who did a good job of supporting his officers. (Side note: Sherif Demings' wife, Val Demings, is Chief of Orlando PD).

Officials investigate deputy-involved shooting in Orange

Reports show at least a dozen deputies fatally shot a known car thief near the Pine Hills neighborhood.

Nine Orange County deputies and more than 100 rounds of ammunition were involved in a shooting in which a car-theft suspect was killed early Tuesday at a gated Pine Hills apartment complex.

Sheriff Jerry Demings, in a late-afternoon news conference, emphasized that the deputies shot to stop Torey Breedlove, 27, a felon suspected in a series of auto thefts and burglaries throughout the county. Breedlove had a long criminal history that began when he was a juvenile, records show.

"My deputies believed they needed to use deadly force to stop Mr. Breedlove," Demings said.

The pre-dawn shooting involved members of the sheriff's Auto Trap and Auto Theft units, who have been involved in at least two officer-involved shootings a year since 2006, records show. Nine deputies have been placed on administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Sheriff's Office investigate.

The fatal incident took place at Alta Westgate Apartments as deputies conducted surveillance on Breedlove about 5 a.m. Officers in unmarked cars had been trailing Breedlove, who was in a stolen SUV, when he stopped at the complex, Demings said.

Deputies parked their vehicles behind the SUV Breedlove was driving to prevent him from escaping, officials said. That's when Breedlove began ramming their cars. One deputy had to get back into his car to avoid being hit, Demings said.

Breedlove got out of the SUV and jumped into a his own SUV, which was parked at the complex and also used to strike deputies' cars, Demings said. Breedlove did not live in the apartments, Demings said.

Breedlove was not carrying a firearm when he died, said Chief Investigator Danny Banks of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Reports show several of the rounds fired by the deputies struck and damaged nearby apartment buildings. No residents were injured. Several of the deputies' cars were damaged, though an estimate was not available Tuesday. Officials have not revealed how many times Breedlove was struck.

Breedlove's criminal record includes arrests on charges of grand theft, violation of probation, forgery, possession of a concealed weapon by a convicted felon, loitering or prowling and possession of a stolen vehicle.

In 2009, the Sheriff's Office had 11 shootings that involved officers. Before Monday, the most recent was Sept. 8 when Deputy Belinda Mills fired her weapon. Details of that shooting were not available Tuesday.

Members of the Auto TRAP unit - a specialized group used to track down stolen vehicles and arrest felons - were involved in two of the 11 shootings. Deputy Paul Volkerson was involved in a June 25 shooting, and Deputies Marcel Caron and Troy Tiegs were involved in a Feb. 3 incident.

The Sheriff's Office did not provide details about those shootings.

Sentinel staff writer Walter Pacheco contributed to this report. Bianca Prieto can be reached at bprieto@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5620. Susan Jacobson can be reached at sjacobson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-540-5981.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-orange-shooting-20100105,0,249665.story