Man shot, killed after he grabbed deputy's Taser, authorities say

Shooting occurred Friday in Seville

SEVILLE, Fla. – A deputy shot and killed a man Friday after he grabbed the deputy's Taser, according to officials from the Volusia County Sheriff's Department.

The shooting occurred around 7:40 p.m. at the 1600 block of North U.S. 17 in Seville. Deputies said the name of the victim was 29-year-old Emmanuel Alquisiras and the deputy involved was Brandon Watson, hired in 2015. 

According to a news release, Watson was responding to a report of a domestic disturbance between Alquisiras and his girlfriend. Alquisiras and a friend were uncooperative when authorities tried to speak with them, the release states.

Authorities said when Alquisiras' girlfriend eventually came outside to speak with Watson, Alquisiras grabbed her and "engaged in a struggle" with her. This prompted Watson to use his Taser on Alquisiras and to instruct him to put his hands behind his back, according to officials.

The release states that Alquisiras did not comply and struggled with Watson for several minutes. During this struggle, Alquisiras grabbed the Watson's Taser and caused it to discharge, which Watson reacted to by firing multiple shots at the suspect, authorities said.

"After watching the body camera video of last night's deputy-involved shooting, it's clear to me that this deputy was placed in a terrible situation and did everything he could to try and convince this man to stop fighting," Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a tweet. "I stand behind the deputy 100 percent. We will release the video.”

Watson was not injured. He has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.


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