TAMPA, Fla. — Two men were killed in separate late-night confrontations with Tampa Bay area law enforcement officers following traffic stops.
In Tampa, police responded to a report of a shot fired in a nightclub parking lot. When they stopped a vehicle matching the description of one that had left the scene, a 42-year-old male passenger fired multiple rounds at the officers. The officers returned fire, killing him. The 37-year-old female driver was not injured. Neither officer was injured in the exchange of gunfire, Deputy Police Chief Calvin Johnson said during a news conference.
Police did not release the names of the man who was killed or the woman who drove the vehicle.
In nearby Polk County, another traffic stop resulted in deputies fatally shooting a man during a traffic stop late Thursday.
Sheriff Grady Judd said the incident began in neighboring Highlands County as deputies there began pursuing a car that ran a stop sign.
Polk County
Suspect dead, SWAT deputy injured in Polk County standoff, shooting: Grady Judd
As they approached Polk County, they were preparing to stop the pursuit since it was only for a traffic infraction, Judd said. But they got a 911 call from a woman who said she was inside the vehicle.
They continued another 11 miles (about 18 kilometers) until the car stopped. Deputies and a SWAT team began negotiations with 37-year-old passenger Raymond Martinez, who was smoking meth as he talked to deputies, Judd said.
Martinez told them he had two handguns and that a baby and a woman were inside the car. Martinez asked for water and negotiators asked if he would let the woman and baby go in exchange for a drink.
He said no, but agreed give up a magazine full of ammunition and one of the two handguns he claimed to have, the sheriff said. He finally agreed to let the woman go get the bottle of water.
When she got out of the car, deputies rushed in and grabbed her. Martinez tried to drive the car away but tires got stuck and he started shooting. He hit Polk County Deputy Samuel Yates in the shoulder. The deputy is going to recover, Judd said.
"It was a heck of a shootout for a few minutes," Judd said.
The baby and woman were not injured. Martinez died at the scene.
A task force will investigate the shooting in Polk County, Judd said.
The Tampa officers involved in the other shooting will be placed on routine administrative leave as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates.
