Two Palmetto police officers acted in self-defense in fatal shooting of man, chief says

Two Palmetto police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a man last September have been cleared of any wrongdoing, according to Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler.

On Sept. 25, Anthony Robinson, 32, died at Blake Medical Center after exchanging gunfire with officers Angel Uruchima and Madison Peters.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the case, as it does all of Palmetto’s police-involved shootings, wrapping it up just before Christmas, Tyler said Friday morning. The results were later forwarded to the State Attorney’s Office for a standard review.

Earlier this week, the State Attorney’s Office concluded its review and found that both officers acted reasonably and were justified in shooting Robinson in self-defense, Tyler said.

“I’m glad that the investigation is concluded,” Tyler said. “I feel sorry for Mr. Robinson’s family and friends and I’m also glad that our officers are doing well.”

Uruchima and Peters both returned to full duty on Wednesday, he added.

On Sept. 25, officers were called to the 1800 block of Fifth Avenue West in Palmetto after Robinson’s father reported his son fired multiple gunshots outside his home. Moments later, Robinson was seen leaving the area but when an officer tried to pull him over, he did not stop.

Officers pursued him until he lost control of his vehicle and crashed at the intersection of Bayshore Road and Eighth Avenue West. Robinson ran from the vehicle into the Memphis Cemetery as officers followed. They exchanged gunfire, shooting Robinson.

The police chief said he waited a few days to release the results of the investigation to allow him time to reach out to Robinson’s family and give them an opportunity to view the results of the investigation.

Tyler said he didn’t want to minimize the Robinson family’s loss.

“But the officers gave Mr. Robinson every chance to put down his weapon and instead he fired at them,” Tyler said.

This story was originally published February 2, 2018 at 11:46 AM with the headline "Two Palmetto police officers acted in self-defense in fatal shooting of man, chief says."