AUBURNDALE, Fla. – A man with a knife who allegedly jumped from some bushes at law enforcement officers in an Auburndale neighborhood Tuesday evening was shot and killed by two police officers and a Polk County deputy, according to Sheriff Grady Judd.
At a news conference held just after midnight with Auburndale police Chief Terry Storie, Judd described the shooting, what he said began as a 911 call around 8:43 p.m. Tuesday from the area of the Westside Ridge neighborhood.
Recommended Videos
“Our communication center — Chief Storie’s communication center and mine are the same — received a 911 domestic violence call from a victim who said that her boyfriend attempted to stab her with a knife,” Judd said.
As two Auburndale police officers were en route, Judd said they were informed the boyfriend — identified as 55-year-old Angelo Theodore Curcione — had run away.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Judd described Curcione as “a very dangerous suspect” who had recently left prison in New Jersey, allegedly behind bars for attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
“According to his family, or his girlfriend, this attempted murder was of a law enforcement officer. He was convicted of that. He was also convicted of resisting arrest with violence against two law enforcement officers. That was all in the same event. He has a total of 45 previous criminal charges lodged against him back until 1986,” Judd said.
Judd said two officers and a Polk County K-9 deputy began a track that lasted around 11 minutes, during which time Curcione allegedly stole a bicycle.
The K-9 then alerted near the entrance of the neighborhood, leading to Curcione’s discovery and death, Judd described.
“Guess what? Angelo Curcione jumps from the bushes with a knife in an attack fashion and announces, ‘Shoot me, kill me, shoot me, kill me,’ as he approaches, in an aggressive manner, the police officers and my deputy, and he’s shot. He got exactly what he asked for. He got exactly what he asked for with a threat of death to two police officers and my deputy. The three of them shot. They shot several times and he was deceased at the scene,” Judd said.
Chief Storie’s comments were brief, acknowledging the shared channels that his police department and Judd’s sheriff’s office use to communicate and work together, commending the agencies’ record of assistance in this regard and describing the night as successful.
“You’re exactly right,” Judd replied. “It is successful when our deputies are not injured, when our Auburndale police officers are not injured and when the suspect is taken into custody, and he was taken into custody the way he wanted to be. He committed suicide by cop when he jumped out of those bushes with that knife in a threatening position, advanced on the officers and the deputy and said, ‘Shoot, kill me, shoot me, kill me.’ They complied with his request.”
The law enforcement officers involved in the shooting were identified Wednesday afternoon as Auburndale police Officer Jazmine Jaimes, Auburndale police K-9 Officer Presley Hart and Polk County K-9 Deputy Frankie Gann, according to the sheriff’s office.
The shooting is otherwise being investigated by the 10th Judicial Circuit Officer Involved Deadly Incident Task Force, Judd said.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: