ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Orange County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released body-worn camera video that shows deputies fatally shooting a man who called 911 during a burglary last month.
In a news release, deputies said they responded to a home on the night of Feb. 8 after receiving a call about the burglary.
“When deputies arrived, they heard a cry for help and saw a man, who they believed had a knife, holding another man in a headlock,” the release reads.
According to sheriff’s officials, deputies told the seemingly armed man to “drop the knife,” and when he failed to do so, two deputies fired their weapons at him, striking him in the head.
The man, later identified as Jose Luis Lopez Lopez, 26, was taken to a hospital for treatment but later died, officials said.
[WARNING! Body-worn camera video contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.]
No knife was found at the scene.
Meanwhile, the other man — identified as Cristian Contreras, 25 — later told detectives in an interview that he had been drinking with Lopez and was given permission to stay at the home that night.
“Cristian stated there were no problems and Luis suddenly became violent and attacked him,” an arrest affidavit reads. “Cristian said Luis never had a knife and he tried to communicate with deputies, but he doesn’t speak or understand English, so his communication attempts were unsuccessful.”
According to investigators, detectives eventually learned from a witness that Contreras and Lopez had been drinking with coworkers in a truck, and Contreras had never been invited into the house.
“While drinking, Cristian became upset with Luis because he was asked to contribute to purchasing the alcohol and Cristian refused,” the affidavit continues. “Cristian became very aggressive, broke a beer bottle, and was continuing his aggressive behavior toward Luis. Because of Cristian’s behavior, Luis went inside the residence by himself.”
As a result, deputies announced that criminal charges had been filed against Contreras, who was determined to have been unlawfully inside the home at the time.
Investigators said that Contreras turned himself in, and he faces charges of burglary, petit theft and second-degree murder in Lopez’s death.
Both of the deputies involved in the shooting were placed on temporary paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which will turn over its findings to the State Attorney’s Office for review before the sheriff’s office then conducts its own internal investigation, the sheriff’s office explained.