4-minute read
Ronald Breese, 76, was shot and killed by Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) deputies on Tuesday, April 7, after calling the Veteran’s Crisis Line earlier in the day and threatening self-harm.
PCSO deputies arrived at Breese’s residence at the 2900 block of Socrum Loop Road West, north of Lakeland, to find Breese sitting on the front porch with a gun to his head. The standoff escalated when Breese’s wife, Janice, 71, arrived home and began hurrying toward the house. As a female deputy tackled Janice to protect her, Breese fired one shot, and four deputies returned fire.
At 9 p.m. Tuesday night, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd held a press conference at the scene to share preliminary information.
“As is my policy, it’s always to be transparent and release to the community what we know just as soon as we can put the information together,” Judd said. PSCO deputies do not wear body cameras.
The 10th Judicial Circuit Officer-Involved Deadly Incident (OIDI) task force, made up of representatives from Polk, Highlands, and Hardee counties, began their investigation immediately following the shooting.
Carrie Horstman, PCSO public information officer, said the investigation will involve four simultaneous investigations: an internal investigation by PCSO, a criminal investigation conducted by the lead detective on the task force, an investigation by the state attorney’s office, and an investigation by the medical examiner.
The state attorney will make the final decision on whether or not the shooting was justified. Involved deputies are on paid administrative leave until cleared to return, as is standard procedure, said Horstman.
Standoff at the scene
According to Judd, Breese was a veteran who served three tours in Vietnam, had no criminal history, and had not previously been “Baker acted” or held involuntarily for mental health services.
Judd said that when Breese called the crisis line, “He said there were five guns in his residence and that he had every intention of hurting himself. He had a gun in his hand, and he would not put it down.”
Judd said the couple had been drinking during the day, and Breese “was upset over some kind of business deal or business transaction.”
PCSO was contacted by the crisis line and dispatched to the scene. When deputies arrived, Judd said they tried to deescalate the situation, believing Janice was inside the home.
“As they were moving up to talk to Ronald, who had a gun to his head, they were risking their life to save his life. They really thought they had a chance to talk him down.”
As the deputies tried to deescalate, Janice arrived on scene, got out of her car, and hurried toward her husband. Deputies asked Janice to stay back, but she continued toward the house.
‘We shot him a lot’
Deputy Sheriff Emily Sidor dropped her shield and tackled Janice to protect her, according to Judd. At that point, Breese fired at least one shot at the deputies, and four deputies returned fire, according to Judd.
“Our deputies did not choose to shoot Ronald. Ronald chose for us to shoot him,” Judd said.
The four deputies that fired at Breese were Deputy Sheriff Christopher Bellido, Deputy Sheriff Drew Kennedy, Deputy Sheriff Daniel Roque, and Deputy Sheriff Dillon Wrenn.
“We shot him a lot, Judd said.
Judd said the deputies rendered first aid after the shooting, but Breese died at the scene.
“I want to make it abundantly clear that I’m proud of my deputies,” Judd said.
“I’m proud of Deputy Emily Sidor that threw the shield down, exposed herself to an armed man who threatened suicide, in order to save the wife. I’m proud of my four deputies who responded when they were shot at. They protected each other. They protected Emily, and they protected Janice. So the bottom line is the investigation goes on, but they performed remarkably professional in a very difficult situation.”
latest news
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
