A Florida man was killed on Monday when he approached police officers with garden shears.
Two Polk County deputies shot Timothy Patrick Schulz, 42, after getting a call about a man acting erratically at a RaceTrac in Lakeland. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said they searched for Schulz for 40 minutes and did not find him, but they later got a call about a man in an alligator-infested lake, according to the Lakeland Ledger.
A witness said they tried to throw a life preserver to Schulz, “but he growled at me, so I ran in the house and locked the door.”
The Lakeland Ledger reported that Schulz exited the lake and found a pair of garden shears. After allegedly throwing a rock at a truck, he charged at police officers while brandishing the garden shears.
Officers reportedly tased Schulz twice, but he continued to charge at them while ignoring their commands to stop. Officers shot Schulz after he entered a running police cruiser and tried to get a rifle or shotgun from a holder, according to Judd.
Judd noted that Schulz — who had a history of methamphetamine-related arrests — had a fresh bite mark on his arm that likely came from an alligator.
“I don’t know if this is a suicide by cop or suicide by being absolutely out of your mind on methamphetamine. But he showed no fear of two deputies, he showed no interest in complying. Even after he was tased, he still ran,” he said, per the Lakeland Ledger.
WKMG reported from Schulz was released from jail on May 20, days before his shooting death. No officers were injured in Monday’s incident.
[Feature Photo: Polk County police]
