Man shot and killed by deputies in confrontation after apparent gator attack
A man believed to be on drugs was shot and killed Monday by Florida sheriff's deputies who had tried to shock him with a Taser as he wielded a set of garden shears shortly after he was apparently bitten by an alligator in a lake, a sheriff said.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told reporters the two deputies were trying to de-escalate the situation before the man, identified as 42-year-old Timothy Schulz, climbed into their running patrol vehicle and tried to get the weapons inside. That's when the deputies opened fire, Judd said.
"This is just crazy stuff, OK?" Judd said. "You know that it's got to be true, you can't make it up."
Schulz had a long history of drug-related arrests, Judd said. He had been released from jail last Tuesday after being arrested for possession of meth, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Monday's incident started when a convenience store worker at about 5:56 a.m. reported a man acting bizarrely, shaking and asking to call his son, Judd said. Deputies went to the store but couldn't find the man.
At about 7:43 a.m., people reported a man later identified as Schulz swimming in a lake that contained multiple alligators, Judd said. One witness tried to give him a life preserver, and another tried to speak with him but received a growl in response, according to the sheriff.
While Schulz was in the lake, he was apparently bitten by an alligator on his right arm, Judd said.
"The fact that he was bitten by an alligator, significantly, and still continued his rampage is shocking," Judd said. "But if you're on enough meth, then the person you see is not the person that's attacking."
When Schulz emerged from the water in a gated community in Lakeland, east of Tampa, he picked up a set of garden shears that had been left outside, Judd said. Schulz then tried to break into a vehicle with a brick.
After deputies arrived at the scene, Schulz charged at them with the shears, Judd said. The deputies tried to de-escalate the situation, told Schulz to put the shears down and attempted to shock him with a Taser twice, according to the sheriff.
"They were still trying to take him peacefully into custody," Judd said.
Schulz entered the deputies' still-running patrol vehicle from the passenger side and tried to get either the rifle or the shotgun inside from their holders, Judd said. The deputies then shot Schulz multiple times.
The sheriff's office posted photos to social media showing the patrol vehicle with what appeared to be multiple bullet holes through the windshield.
The incident is under investigation, Judd said. The deputies have been placed on routine administrative leave during the initial phases of the investigation.
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