Deputies respond to home in Eagle Lake area
POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Polk County deputy fatally shot a man accused of raising a hammer and charging at him Saturday morning, according to the sheriff’s office.
The deputy was dispatched to a home in the Eagle Lake area after a call came in around 6:50 a.m. which was placed by a 61-year-old woman who told dispatchers that she was being beaten by her husband, identified as 52-year-old Charles Edwards Jr., the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
When the deputy arrived, he allegedly saw Edwards using a large hammer to attack the woman. The deputy gave Edwards multiple commands to drop the hammer and surrender, yet the 52-year-old ignored them, the release states.
The deputy then deployed his Taser, but Edwards reportedly pulled out the probes and ran toward the deputy with the hammer raised in an attempt to strike him, according to the release. In response, the deputy shot Edwards at least twice, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies performed life-saving measures on Edwards until Polk County Fire Rescue arrived to take both the woman and the man to the hospital. Edwards was pronounced dead at the hospital while the woman was being treated for signifigant injuries at the time of this report and is expected to survive, according to the sheriff’s office.
The deputy who shot Edwards — Deputy Sheriff Christopher Johnston — has been with the sheriff’s office for seven years, the release states, adding the following four investigations were or would be underway as a result of the shooting:
- An independent investigation by the 10th Judicial Circuit’s Officer Involved Deadly Incident (OIDI) Task Force
- An internal investigation by the PCSO Administrative Investigations Unit
- The Polk County Medical Examiner conducts the autopsy to determine the manner and cause of death
- All investigative findings are (to be) forwarded to the 10th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office for their investigation and review
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Source: clickorlando
