Charlotte County releases body-cam footage of fatal deputy-involved shooting

Reporter: Amy Galo
Published: Updated:

Viewer discretion is advised. Viewers may find the video and its contents disturbing.

Charlotte County has released the body and dashcam video of the deputy-involved shooting that occurred on Sandy Pine Drive, leaving a man dead.

The shooting occurred on Wednesday afternoon and left a man, deputies identified as Elroy Clarke, dead.

In the 20-minute-plus video edited by the Charlotte and posted on their Facebook page, several deputies are seen speaking to Clarke at his home on Sandy Pine Drive and using methods of de-escalation.

In the video, deputies used Tasers, pepper spray and batons, and fired bean bag rounds before Clarke charged at officers, which was when deputies fired two shots that killed Clarke.

It was during the bean bag rounds that Clarke is seen charging a deputy and getting his hands on a service weapon that had been pointed at him.

Fourteen shots went off before Clarke collapsed in his driveway.

According to the sheriff, the deputy who was attacked fired 13 rounds and one shot belonged to another deputy.

The deputy who was charged by Clarke began hyperventilating and had to be calmed by other deputies on the scene.

As he catches his breath, the breathless deputy can be heard saying, “I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to do it.”

“You had to,” said another deputy.

Based on information WINK News received earlier this week, deputies originally responded to a disturbance between Clarke, the property owner and Troy Johnson, a guest on the property that Clarke wanted to leave.

During the investigation, a deputy learned that a warrant had been issued for Clarke’s arrest and that he was a sovereign citizen.

When Clarke was confronted about the warrant, he denied Elroy Clarke was his name and gave a different name.

An argument ensued and Clarke refused to comply with the deputies’ orders to get on the ground, and the confrontation escalated from there.

Sheriff Bill Prummell promised to provide this video as soon as possible to inform the community about what occurred during this incident.

In the Facebook post, the sheriff’s office said it felt it was critical to share the footage exactly as it happened.

The deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave and are also receiving mental health services.

See the Facebook post here.

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