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Florida city official, who shot a suspect in a shop he owns, faces life in prison after being charged with murder this week – in a case that has renewed attention to the law of the day State, Stand Your Ground.
Lakeland City Commissioner Michael Dunn has been charged with second degree murder and is currently incarcerated in Polk County Jail in central Florida.
Dunn, 47, was caught in a surveillance video taken on October 3, seizing farm worker Christobal Lopez, after police officers told him he had tried to flee the Vets Army Navy Surplus store with a hatchet that he did not pay.
After a brief fight in the doorway, Dunn fired twice on a semi-automatic Glock, hitting Lopez in the upper torso and in the back, according to an affidavit.
In a troubling sequence broadcast by Lakeland police, Lopez, 50, is falling through the open door of the store, face down on the sidewalk. He died on the scene.
And Dunn did not attempt to "rescue the victim," says the affidavit.
Dunn has not spoken publicly about the incident, and his attorney has not yet announced it would invoke the controversial Stand Your Ground status, which allows Floridians to use a lethal force when they "face imminent death or serious bodily injury".
Dunn reportedly told the police on the spot that he was "scared", but when asked what would have happened had he let go of the victim. He said, "It might be fair to say that if I withdrew and let someone enter and take what he wanted, there would be no problem," according to the newspaper. 39; affidavit.
The affidavit states that Lopez "at no time appeared to have made threatening moves towards the suspect". "In addition, the testimony of witnesses … revealed that the victim had not made any verbal threat to the suspect."
Before the video of the shooting was made public, Dunn's lawyer said he had the right to shoot Lopez because he was armed with a hatchet.
"I determined that this case and Mr. Dunn's actions did not fall under the protection of the law," said Polk District Attorney Brian Haas.
Dunn is over six months in office and may be suspended by the governor.
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