The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating after Edgewater police officers shot and killed an armed man Friday afternoon, according to the Edgewater Police Department.
Officers were dispatched to a house on North Riverside Drive after the homeowner called about a distraught, suicidal man, said Edgewater Police Chief Joseph Mahoney at a press conference. The man did not live at the house but was known to the homeowner.
Body camera footage was also released by the department. The footage begins just after 5 p.m., when the officers were speaking with the 62-year-old man, who was wearing a shirt that read “DEAD MAN WALKING.” The audio from their conversation could not be heard in the video released on the department’s social media.
Shortly after the footage began, during their conversation, one of the two officers stepped toward the man. The man quickly backed away while reaching behind his back for a gun, which he pointed at officers, Mahoney said. Over a dozen shots were fired by officers, the video showed.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene; neither officer was hurt, said the chief.
“[The officers] fired shots to protect themselves,” Mahoney said. “The officers … acted in accordance with their training.”
The two officers have been placed on administrative leave, per the department’s standard operating procedure. FDLE is heading an investigation into the their use of deadly force.
“I am thankful the officers were unharmed during this event,” said Mahoney “I would like to give my condolences to the family of [the man].”