Police shooting outside Bradenton motel ruled justified, body cam video released
Investigators have cleared a Bradenton police sergeant who shot a man outside a Bradenton motel last March, concluding the shooting was justified because the man was driving toward the officer in a threatening manner.
The shooting, which occurred March 25 outside the Blue Boy Motel, 1839 Tamiami Trail, was investigated by the state’s attorney’s office, the Bradenton Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, all of which determined the sergeant’s use of force was acceptable, given his fear that his life was in danger.
The Bradenton Police Department had not named Sgt. Perry Merrill after the shooting, claiming protection under Florida’s Marsy’s Law, which was enacted in 2018 and created to protect the identity of victims. The name only became public with the release of the Internal Affairs report to the Bradenton Herald.
Reports by the state Department of Law Enforcement and Bradenton Police say 42-year-old Charles Mickell III threatened the couple who manage the motel with a large knife before Bradenton officers arrived. Merrill disarmed the man of two knives, the report said. Then he heard a woman shout: “He’s leaving! He’s leaving!”
Video from two assisting Bradenton police officers’ body cameras, obtained by the Bradenton Herald as part of public records request under Florida’s Sunshine Law, has a limited view of what happened. According to the investigative report, Merrill jumped in front of a Honda SUV driven by Mickel and ordered him to stop.
According to the video, Mickel kept driving, and the impact caused Merrill to fall onto the hood of the SUV. The video then records the sound of several gunshots, which authorities say wounded Mickel, who fled but returned to the scene moments later and surrendered.
“[Merrill], believing he was going to die, fired his [department-issued] firearm into the windshield of the vehicle as he was on the hood of the car, striking Mickel three times,” the investigative stated. Mickel was treated for his injuries and is expected to survive, said Chief Assistant State Attorney Cynthia Evers, who reviewed the incident and concluded that Merrill “feared his life was in peril” when he fired his gun.
Bradenton Police said video from Merrill’s body camera was destroyed when the sergeant was struck and tumbled to the ground.
The Axon Body 3 model used by police is U.S. military-grade and designed to withstand a six-foot fall, according to the company’s website.
An Internal Affairs report concluded on July 28 said footage from Merrill’s camera was sent back to the manufacturer, Axon, to be restored. But the footage was never saved because of a power failure that occurred when Merrill was struck by the SUV.
An Axon engineer determined that it wasn’t Merrill’s fall that destroyed the incident footage. The company said the camera likely was damaged while being pressed against the hard surface of the windshield. “No additional videos were recovered from the device, as recording was not active while in the powered-off state. Failure was confirmed, although intermittent,” the April 8 report concluded.
The Bradenton Police Department did release some footage from the motel’s video surveillance system that provided a distant overview of what happened, but the video was poor quality.
Footage from two other officers on the scene provide a more obstructed or distant view of the shooting than likely would have been available from Merrill’s body cam. Merrill is also blurred out in that footage, which the Bradenton Police Department again cited Marsy’s Law on Tuesday as justification.
Without video showing Merrill’s point of view, it’s nearly impossible to determine whether the shooting represents a justified use of force, said Alex Piquero, a criminologist at the University of Miami.
“This is not clear-cut that it was an appropriate use of force,” said Piquero, who is the chairman of UM’s Department of Sociology and Arts & Sciences. “I don’t think the officer’s life was in imminent danger. But remember, use-of-force policy puts it all on the officer’s perception.”
Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents were able to view limited footage captured by Merrill’s camera before the shooting, however, according to the investigative report.
“In the video, [Merrill] can be observed talking with the motel owners and Mickel, who appeared to be agitated,” the report said. “[Merrill] can be seen removing two knives from Mickel.” The video then shows Merrill talking with another motel guest before the video stops. The sergeant did not know that his body camera was not recording until after the incident,” the report added.
Piquero, the independent criminologist, cautioned against second-guessing officers in such instances.
“They make decisions in seconds where you and I have minutes or hours,” he said. “They are working in a world where they are making split-second decisions with not all the information in their hands.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 12:13 PM.
