June 1, 2009 — Orlando
Deputy Robert Ricks attempted to pull over a vehicle for having illegally tinted windows.
The vehicle stopped briefly, but before Ricks could get out of the car to approach the suspect vehicle, it took off.
The vehicle turned sharply into a driveway and sped away in the opposite direction, narrowly avoiding striking Ricks' car. Ricks claimed if he had not moved his vehicle forward, he would have been struck on the driver side. Read more
Ricks chased the suspect vehicle as it sped through a neighborhood, blowing through stop signs and turning into oncoming traffic at a roundabout.
Eventually, Ricks cornered the suspect vehicle at a dead end. Ricks got out of his car in a field near Carver Middle School, expecting a foot pursuit. The suspect then drove straight at Ricks.
The deputy, reportedly fearing for his life, fired 10 shots, injuring all three occupants. The vehicle swerved and crashed.
The driver Cier Green, 23, and passengers, Robert Lewis, 21, Samuel Jones III, 24, all suffered non-life threatening wounds. Lewis was described in the police report as "seriously injured and possibly paralyzed." Police did not find any weapons in the vehicle, but they did find a small amount of drugs.
The FDLE investigated the incident and expressed concern that Ricks had previously violated the agency's vehicle pursuit policy.
This was the 61st police shooting in Florida in 2009.
Four days earlier, three officers shot one person in St. Augustine .
One day later, one officer shot one person in Jacksonville .
6 ways this case compares to others
- Green, Lewis and Jones were among the 7 percent of people who appeared to be on drugs before being shot.
- Officer approached Green after he was suspected of committing a minor crime. That’s true in 1 of every 12 cases.
- The officer shot 10 bullets. The average was eight.
- Green and 94 other people who police shot reportedly drove at an officer.
- Green, Lewis and Jones were fleeing from police or a crime scene, which is true in a quarter of shootings.
- This shooting came after an officer pulled over Green, Lewis and Jones for a traffic violation. Seventy-seven cases began with a traffic stop.