WHOOPS! Florida Police accidentally kill the wrong man.

[Ma Huang Sor]

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. -

Lake County Sheriff's Office deputies shot and killed a man they assumed was an attempted murder suspect on Sunday, but they now know they shot the wrong man.

In the early-morning hours, deputies knocked on 26-year-old Andrew Lee Scott's door without identifying themselves as law enforcement officers. Scott answered the door with a gun in his hand.

"When we knocked on the door, the door opened and the occupant of that apartment was pointing a gun at deputies, and that's when we opened fire and killed him," Lt. John Herrell said. "Even though this subject is not the one we were looking for when he opened the door. He was pointing the gun at the deputy and if you put yourselves in the deputy's shoes. They were there to pick up someone who was wanted for an attempted homicide."

Officials said the deputies did not identify themselves because of safety reasons.

Deputies thought they were confronting Jonathan Brown, a man accused of attempted murder. Brown was spotted at the Blueberry Hills Apartment complex and his motorcycle was parked across from Andrew Scott's front door.

"It's just a bizarre set of circumstances. The bottom line is, you point a gun at a deputy sheriff or police office, you're going to get shot," Herrell said.

Residents said the unannounced knock at the door at 1:30 a.m. may be the reason why the tragedy happened.

"He was the wrong guy and he got shot and killed anyway. There's fault on both sides. I think more so on the county," Ryan Perry said. "I can understand why he [the deputy] did it, but it should have never gone down like that," Perry said.

Scott's friend, LeMac Blount said he thinks law enforcement acted too quickly.

"I think because his motorcycle was parked in front of Andrew's door, it wasn't safe to assume that that was where he was at. I think they should of took other precautions," said Blout.

Read more: http://www.wesh.com/news/central-florida...z20zeBYQ1f

[Lady Cop]

it IS a sad and tragic story.
however The bottom line is, you point a gun at a deputy sheriff or police officer, you're going to get shot.

if you open the door to me, as a deputy, with a weapon pointed at me, i will drop you in your tracks and get ID later. no shit. not kidding. you die. sorry.

[Ma Huang Sor]

That shits tragically fucked up. I never open the door when someone knocks anyway, I'm always "who is it"? I guess that wouldnt have mattered, they'd have just busted in anyway.

[Lady Cop]

I guess that wouldnt have mattered, they'd have just busted in anyway.

not unless they had a no-knock warrant.

[ramseycat]

Shit. There are no winners in this situation. I see fault on both sides. A couple of questions though - why did the guy open the door with a gun in his hand? Is he a criminal? Was the gun legal? I know there is but a few seconds to react, but I would like to know if the officers identified themselves and order him to drop the weapon before they shot him?

[Ma Huang Sor]

I guess that wouldnt have mattered, they'd have just busted in anyway.

not unless they had a no-knock warrant.

So they would have had to say "police open up"? Stupid ass guy then wtf did he think he was up to? Doesn't matter anymore. FUCKED UP

[Lady Cop]

I guess that wouldnt have mattered, they'd have just busted in anyway.

not unless they had a no-knock warrant.

So they would have had to say "police open up"? Stupid ass guy then wtf did he think he was up to? Doesn't matter anymore. FUCKED UP

no. no-knock warrant means they break in with no warning. it is utilized when you think the person you are seeking is likely to shoot at you. you show a judge probable cause for a no-knock warrant. it isn't used on candy-bar thieves.

[LuciferLynn]

Who the fuck answers a door with a gun in their hand? At 1:30 am, a baseball bat maybe or a golf club but a gun? Your ass is getting shot, pal. The police had no idea if he knew they were the police and for all anyone knows, he may have warrants out, saw it was the cops and grabbed his gun. Maybe the police were just quicker on the trigger.

[Ma Huang Sor]

^that. It's odd that he opened the door pointing the gun. Fucking dead dumbass.

[Lady Cop]

dead stupid guy. it IS sad. but you do not get a second chance when you point a weapon at a cop.

[Jimbone]

Sorry, but I am headed to a knock on my door at 1:30 AM armed as well. I am not opening the door before I know who is on the other side and I am certainly not pointing a gun when I open the door, but I guess I should be shot as well if the police make a mistake? Fuck that.

It's law enforcements responsibility to be reasonably certain that they are in the right place. I'm not entirely comfortable with the fact they approached that apartment because a motorcycle was parked in front of it. I looked on google maps, and the parking areas are common and not specific to apartments. A little more diligence probably could have avoided this.

Should he have been pointing a gun? Hell no! But who knows - maybe he didn't point it, and dead men tell no tales. But I don't fault him for answering the door at 1:30 AM armed. No one else should either.

Tragic all around, he's dead and some LEO's life just changed forever because of a mistake.

[Ma Huang Sor]

dead stupid guy. it IS sad. but you do not get a second chance when you point a weapon at a cop.

You're quick...where did you find that? I was looking all over for a pic of the guy.

[Riotgear]

Who the fuck answers a door with a gun in their hand? At 1:30 am, a baseball bat maybe or a golf club but a gun?

At 1:30 am I sure in the hell do. But I don't have warrants. Or retard friends that don't know better than to knock on my door unannounced or for no good reason.

I also say "WHO THE FUCK IS IT?" nice and loud.

[Lady Cop]

i was a florida deputy. i read the news down there daily. i saw his photo 3 days ago.

[Ma Huang Sor]

Awesome, took the Jacksonville paper forever to even blurb the story from the comments Ive been reading.

[HairOfTheDog]

I also say "WHO THE FUCK IS IT?" nice and loud.

Yep. You come knocking on my door at 1:30 a.m. and don't answer me when I demand that you identify yourself, that door is not opening. Even if I didn't live alone, it would still be "denied". I don't have a gun, but I am armed with a generally functional brain in my head. No one who isn't willing to tell me who they are has any reason to be at my home in the wee hours of the morning. I wish this guy had simply refused to open the door.

I'm gonna wait for more details on this one. Based on what we know now, I feel badly for the officer and primarily for the family of the corpse.

[Jimbone]

I'll speculate without facts, because I am in that sort of mood today...my guess is that this apartment complex is well know to law enforcement, and is likely filled with undesirables. Every area has them, and this looks like one of them. Obviously someone screwed up on the apartment location, and they had no verification that the suspect was actually in the apartment. In other words, they guessed that because of where the motorcycle was parked.

This is going to cost that department an enormous amount of money in a wrongful death lawsuit.

/end speculation.

[HairOfTheDog]

I'll speculate without facts, because I am in that sort of mood today...my guess is that this apartment complex is well know to law enforcement, and is likely filled with undesirables. Every area has them, and this looks like one of them. Obviously someone screwed up on the apartment location, and they had no verification that the suspect was actually in the apartment. In other words, they guessed that because of where the motorcycle was parked.

This is going to cost that department an enormous amount of money in a wrongful death lawsuit.

/end speculation.

Makes sense. And, thank you for not insinuating that because this guy lived in a bad area and may have been an undesirable that it means nothing that he was shot dead by mistake. I hate that shit.

Based on what we know now, he was killed by an error made in good faith and because he pointed a gun at someone without knowing their identity. But, I agree with your post upthread, dead men don't tell tales.

[Lady Cop]

i haven't seen information that anyone else was in apt. as a witness. i do know FDLE will do a complete investigation, playing no favorites.

a few years ago a young detective in Ft. Liquordale was serving a no-knock warrant on a child pornographer.
the guy came to the door with a deer rifle and shot the detective point blank right through his body armor. killed him. young father of 2.

[HairOfTheDog]

i haven't seen information that anyone else was in apt. as a witness. i do know FDLE will do a complete investigation, playing no favorites.

Thanks LC. I'm interested in reading the results of the investigation when they're available.