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May 8, 2014 — Brooksville

Two Hernando County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a 911 call from a man threatening to burn down his own home because he was being evicted.

Deputies said they found James Quenton Palmer, 69, standing outside his mobile home, which was engulfed in flames.

As Deputies Michael Beckwith and Aaron Cochrane exited their cruisers, Palmer turned toward them with a firearm tucked in his waistband. Read more

Deputies said they fired when Palmer raised his pistol at them Beckwith said that Palmer fell after he was struck, but was still pointing his gun at them. Beckwith fired more rounds.

Together, the deputies fired 14 gunshots.

Palmer was pronounced dead at a hospital. What appeared to be a suicide note was found at the scene. The gun Palmer aimed at deputies turned out to be a pellet gun.

This was the 47th police shooting in Florida in 2014.

The same day, one officer shot one person in Hallandale Beach .

Two days later, one officer shot one person in Pensacola .

6 ways this case compares to others

  1. Palmer did not immediately comply with police instruction, a factor in nearly a quarter of shootings.
  2. Officers shot 14 bullets. The average was eight.
  3. Palmer was armed with a bb/pellet gun. Only 36 other people were armed the same way.
  4. Palmer told someone that he wanted officers to kill him. That preceded 10 percent of police shootings.
  5. Palmer showed signs of mental instability. Almost a third of all shootings involved someone who appeared mentally unstable.
  6. Palmer pointed a weapon at officers. Twenty-eight percent of shootings involved people who police say pointed a weapon at them.

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