ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Several firearms experts questioned the training an Orange County deputy received and retained after a video was released showing him shooting a homeowner last month.
The deputy, whose identity has not been released, was responding to a burglary call at the Pine Hills home. The agency said deputies had been called to a burglary, where the homeowner was trying to fend off four people attempting to break in.
The people ran away before deputies arrived.
The deputy’s gun went off just as the homeowner opened the door to speak to them, with the deputy sounding surprised that his gun went off.
“His finger had to be on the trigger,” Alejandro Ferrer, a former deputy and firearms instructor, commented.
Ferrer called the situation “sympathetic reflex,” which law enforcement trains for. He said responsible gun owners are trained to keep their fingers close to but off the trigger, which will avoid them accidentally shooting someone if they are surprised.
“It’s fundamental training everywhere, not only from the firearm side of the law enforcement, but also civilian side of it,” he said. “That finger needs to stay off the trigger until you fully identify your target.”
Ferrer praised the other deputy in the video, who was seen de-escalating the situation after the homeowner was shot.
The deputy who fired the bullet has been reassigned while the FDLE investigates.
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