SHALIMAR, Fla. – A Florida State Attorney's Office has ruled that deputies were justified in fatally shooting a suspect who had shot and killed one of their own.
News outlets report that Assistant State Attorney William Bishop wrote in a recently released report that all the Okaloosa County deputies were in reasonable fear for their lives and the lives of their fellow officers on Sept. 22, 2015 when they shot and killed 33-year-old Joel D. Smith following a standoff in Shalimar.
Authorities say Smith had fatally shot Deputy Bill Myers earlier that day when Myers arrived to serve a restraining order that Smith's wife had filed.
The report says the deputies shot Smith when he pointed a handgun at them. It is unclear how many deputies fired their weapons.
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