CLEARWATER -- Clearwater's police chief says his preliminary information shows Pinellas deputies are justified in using deadly force on a fleeing robbery and carjacking suspect last week - despite the fact that the gun he was aiming at them was fake.
Clearwater Police Chief Daniel Slaughter says the deputies would have needed an "eagle eye" to know that the BB pistol wasn't a real handgun in the time they had to react. His agency is investigating the case as part of a mutual aid agreement among several law enforcement agencies.
He says that 43-year-old Robert Hubbard got out of his car and aimed at deputies almost instantly after he was forced off the road by a PIT maneuver on Philippi Parkway in Safety Harbor.
Slaughter says the deputies performed bravely and that one had the fake gun pointed at him "before he could even get his seat belt off."
Slaughter says the final investigation results are some time away. There's also an independent investigation underway by the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office. Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri says that all but one of the four deputies are back on the job.
Photo: Florida Department of Corrections (2020)/ Canva