There are at least two sides to every story. Sometimes, there are more than two sides. Cops know that. And newspaper reporters know that. And that's the case in the current controversy concerning the police shootout on Front Street last July 22.
Did the man in the pickup truck being pursued by the cops have a gun and, if he did, did he fire it at the officers? And if he did fire at officers, why isn't he being charged with attempted murder?
A couple of witnesses say the man did have a gun and that he fired it at officers. But the cops can't find the gun or any spent casing from the gun. And, more than two months after a "paraffin test" was reportedly conducted on the suspects' hands shortly after they were arrested, cops say that those results are still "pending". They say they sent the tests to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for analysis— but they have yet to get back a report.
Positive results would indicate that one or both of the suspects fired a weapon that night. But, right now, there are no results at all, cops say.
If and when prosecutors feel that they have enough evidence that the man did, indeed, have a gun and did fire it at officers, they could charge him with attempted murder. But without a gun, and without positive results from the paraffin test, prosecutors are, in essence, sucking their thumbs.
On the strength of a report from a bystander that the man in the truck did have a gun and fired it at officers, prosecutors have charged the suspect with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. But, so far, they apparently do not feel comfortable with charging him with attempted murder. And without a gun, even the possession charge may not stand up in court.
The man and woman who were in the truck are facing a number of charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (the truck) on a law enforcement officer, fleeing and eluding a police officer, resisting arrest, and leaving the scene of an accident.
In case you missed the story:
About Midnight on Sunday, July 22, a police officer stopped a couple in a black pickup truck after the driver spun the truck's tires in the middle of the intersection at Duval at Front. When the officer asked for identification, the driver sped away.
After a short chase, officers trapped the truck in the A&B Lobster House parking lot by blockading Front Street with several police cars. But the truck crashed through the blockade and a high-speed chase across the island ensued. By this time, the officers knew that the truck had been stolen at knifepoint in West Palm Beach.
Finally, the driver lost control of the truck and crashed into a pole near College Road on Stock Island, and the couple was arrested.
The initial police report, released the day after the shooting, made no mention of anyone in the truck firing shots. But on the evening of July 23, Rebecca Ceron of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, approached Officer Jeff Williamson at Key West International Airport and told him she had seen the man in the truck shooting at officers.
Here are excerpts from Williamson's report:
"She was in her room at the Galleon Resort on Front Street. This room has a balcony which overlooks Front Street and is about 12 feet up. She heard sirens outside and when she looked, saw a black truck traveling toward her on Front Street. It was being pursued by several police cars.
"The truck turned into the parking lot at A&B Lobster House, running over three cones that were blocking the driveway. The vehicle went into the parking lot and came out the other drive. She told me that a white female with blonde hair was driving and a white male was in the passenger seat.
"As the truck was exiting the parking lot, several police cars were blocking it. Ceron said it rammed one of the police cars, pushing it around. Just as the truck turned onto Front Street from the parking lot, the passenger held a gun out the window and shot it at the officers. She was not sure how many times the male shot but she said it was back toward the officers who were at the point where the truck had entered the parking lot.
"She said there was a lot of smoke from the tires on the truck and the officers being shot at may not have seen the gun. She also said that, because she was above the scene, she could see over the smoke.
"The truck then continued away from her on Front Street and the officers started firing their guns at it. She could not see how big the gun was nor could she see the color, however, she described it as not as loud as the officers' guns, possibly a smaller caliber."
According to the KWPD's Final Summary of the incident, released on September 19, the three officers who fired their guns said they did not see or hear gunshots coming from the suspect vehicle. They said that their intent was not to return fire, but to try to protect fellow officers from being run down by the truck.
However, another officer on the scene said he heard "two or three" gunshots coming from the passenger side of the truck. Another officer, positioned at Grinnell and Eaton Streets, said he saw the male passenger in the truck holding a "small handgun" out the window, which he radioed to other officers.
At North Roosevelt and Fifth Street, the officer immediately behind the suspect vehicle reported that he observed the passenger drop an unidentified object from the window. But a subsequent search of the truck and the chase route turned up neither a firearm nor any spent casings from the gun.
The interim summary released on July 25 did say that cops had found a gun case in the truck. However, this reported discovery was not mentioned in the Final Summary.
It is likely that testimony from the suspects themselves could provide some insight as to whether either of them had a gun and fired it at officers. Key West The Newspaper has learned that the couple is now "estranged" and have separate attorneys. If the man had a gun, prosecutors may be able to persuade the woman to rat on him in return for lesser charges.
Stay tuned.