Sarasota deputy shoots and kills a man involved in domestic violence incident, cops say

A 65-year-old Sarasota man was shot dead by a Sarasota County sheriff’s deputy around 12:40 a.m. Saturday morning following a “domestic violence incident,” according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies say they responded to 255 N. Tamiami Trail in the Palm and Pines Mobile and RV Park to a report of a disturbance. The first deputy to arrive found Mark Richard Coleman on top of his screaming wife, according to the sheriff’s office.

The deputy gave several commands for Coleman to stop. He refused and pulled out a gun, telling the deputy to shoot him. Then he placed the gun in his own mouth, the sheriff’s office said.

The deputy continued efforts to deescalate the situation, at which time Coleman did remove the gun from his mouth. A witness attempted to seize the opportunity and grabbed Coleman from behind, at which time Coleman raised the weapon and pointed it at the deputy.

The deputy fired one round, which proved to be fatal, according to the sheriff’s office.

The deputy has been placed on administrative leave, per agency policy, pending the results of the investigation.

Coleman’s wife was transported to the hospital with minor injuries and was later released. There were no further injuries reported.

This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 8:34 AM.