PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The State Attorney's Office has cleared three deputies following an investigation of the shooting death of a Safety Harbor man.
The shooting happened on Aug. 3 after Gualtieri said deputies working their investigation outside noticed a car approaching with John Clark at the wheel. Three deputies ordered him to stop and then noticed a 12-gauge shotgun in his lap. They ordered him to put the gun away.
After deputies entered the home and found 64-year-old Susan Clark on the floor, wrapped in blankets.
At one point John Clark took the shotgun and pointed it out the passenger side window where deputies were standing, prompting the three deputies to shoot him, Gualtieri said.
The shooting has since been deemed justified.
State Attorney Bernie McCabe provided the following written statement:
"As a result of our investigation concluded by my office, I have determined that Deputies Brennan Wede, Brian Williams, and Christopher Amatruda were in the lawful performance of their legal duties when they discharged their weapons at John Julian Clark. John Julian Clark's actions of failing to respond to commands to stop his vehicle and raising his shotgun within the vehicle contrary to the deputies' lawful commands, gave them grounds to reasonably believe that they were in imminent danger of great bodily harm or death when they fired their weapons."
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