A Port Orange officer responding to a call about a suicidal person shot and killed a male with a knife, according to the police department.
Police called to the 5900 block of Jandon Court just before 1 p.m.
Recommended Videos
When they arrived, a male with a knife charged at them, according to investigators. Police Chief Manny Marino said the officer gave multiple commands to drop the knife before opening fire.
“We are part of the regional crisis negotiations team and, obviously if it permits in the best case scenario, you’ll make the scene is secure and establish that it’s safe and then call in the negotiators,” Marino said. “This just happened so quickly with the individual coming at the officer, so there wasn’t time to do those things — but that is a protocol that we do have just, unfortunately in this case, was not able to utilize.”
The officers tried to render first-aid to the male but were unable to save his life.
Police have not released the male’s name or age.
The officer who opened fire is now on leave, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating. The chief said the officer has been with the department for a little more than two years, but did not give any further details about his identity.
Port Orange police are set to hold a news conference about the shooting at 7 p.m. News 6 will stream the briefing in a media player at the top of this story.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: