LARGO -- Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, whose office is reviewing the officer-involved shooting in St. Petersburg last Saturday (26th), says the bodycam and dashcam video released from the scene shows the officers exactly as they should have during the incident.
"These officers' actions and reactions showed they are professionals who are well trained, and work for an agency with good policies and procedures, and acted and reacted in an exemplary manner."
Gualtieri says this is an example of how "the vast majority" of police behave every day. The sheriff says this video should be played as much as videos of "rogue cops" who do things that are stupid and contrary to best practices.
The sheriff says the suspect, 23-year-old Austin Kingos, suffers from mental health issues including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He has twice been Baker Acted and was supposed to be on medications. Family members say Kingos stopped taking meds and resumed using marijuana.
Gualtieri says Kingos became infatuated with a woman who works at a smoke shop in St. Petersburg. She smoked pot with him but didn't want a relationship. But Kingos wouldn't take no for an answer, calling her and sending notes and packages. Kingos was placed under an injunction June 15, prohibiting him from contacting the woman or having guns. When he continued sending packages to her, she called police.
An officer found Kingos not far from his apartment on Fourth Street, entering the complex with a work van. Officer Ronald Mackenzie pulled him over with Officer Pavel Kusnetzov responded as backup. Mackenzie approached the van and asked for ID. He noticing Kingos was fidgeting and his hands couldn't be seen. When Mackenzie opened the driver's side door, Kingos began to resist, finally pulling a ,40-caliber handgun out of his waistband, firing it just as Kusnetzov arrived. Kusnetzov said he could "hear the round whiz by his head." It ended up in a nearby apartment. "If his head had been tilted slightly, there's no doubt he would have been shot in the head," Gualtieri said.
Kingos' gun had jammed, and Officer Mackenzie fired several rounds, hitting Kingos in the leg. He got out of the van and ran with officers in pursuit. Officers gave him first aid. Kingos is in the Pinellas County jail facing multiple charges, including attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
Gualtieri says he believes Kingos lied on an application to own the gun, which he bought from a sporting goods store in 2020.