LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — The family of a man shot and killed by a Lake County Deputy Sunday morning is demanding accountability and greater transparency.
A spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office met with Timotheus Reed’s family on Wednesday afternoon, just hours after dozens of community members gathered at the Sheriff’s Office for a rally asking for body camera video of the shooting to be released.
Investigators say Reed was shot and killed after a 911 caller reported someone had been stabbed multiple times and a bystander pointed to Reed as the suspect.
It all happened on Sunday morning around 6 a.m. near Montclair Road in Leesburg. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said after the shooting a knife was found in the nearby vicinity. A spokesperson also confirmed Reed was killed by one lethal bullet to the abdomen, according to an autopsy.
On Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office sent out a statement confirming a previously released 8-minute clip showing the moments after the shooting was un-edited and that the moment Reed was shot was not recorded.
A lengthy statement released by a spokesperson for the Lake County Sheriff’s Office reads in part, “The starting point in the footage that was released is the same starting point as what we have in the original footage… At the time the call went out regarding the alleged stabbing, the involved deputy was in the immediate area, a very short distance away. As a result, he did not activate his blue lights, which would have in turn activated his body camera.”
Reed’s family told Channel 9, lack of body camera video raises more questions in the case.
“My brother will have justice. I can’t even grieve my brother. I’m in anger,” said Charity Mann, Reed’s sister.
Channel 9 has asked the sheriff’s office if any other deputies responded to the scene and if their body camera videos were activated during the shooting. We have not yet heard back.
In the meantime, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office has stated their agency has an open administrative investigation that will parallel the investigation being conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. They say the deputy involved in the shooting is on administrative leave, pending the outcome of FDLE’s investigation.
View the department’s full statement below:
“When the deputy-involved shooting occurred on the morning of April 12, the deputy was removed from the line of duty, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was requested to respond and investigate the incident. This is standard procedure in all deputy-involved shootings.
As with any incident that happens to be of special interest to the public or one that garners media attention, we began getting requests for various public records related to the event. It is important to note that the very next day, we released the following items to the public: a copy of the 911 call to the dispatch center, a copy of body camera footage, an update related to the preliminary findings from the Medical Examiner’s autopsy describing the entry location of the gunshot wound, an update concerning a knife being found in the area where the deputy encountered Mr. Reed, as well as an update concerning the treatment the alleged stabbing victim received at a local hospital Sunday morning.
Releasing these items so quickly is evidence of the fact that we have been as transparent as the law allows us to be in this situation. Following the release of these items, questions have been raised regarding what some have referred to
as edited body camera footage, implying that the portion showing the shooting was removed from the footage. That is not the case. The starting point in the footage that was released is the same starting point as what we have in the original footage, and we have automated audit trails that show no such editing took place. At the time the call went out regarding the alleged stabbing, the involved deputy was in the immediate area, a very short distance away. As a result, he did not activate his blue lights, which would have in turn activated his body camera. He simply pulled up to the scene and was quickly pointed in the direction where Mr. Reed had gone.
While I am prohibited by state statute from releasing the deputy’s name, I can provide some general background information regarding his employment here. He was hired in April 2023 to work in
Corrections in our jail and then in January 2025, he transferred to the Law Enforcement side as a patrol deputy. During his time here, he has received an exceptional notice for his work in the jail; the only disciplinary action he has received was a written reprimand for an at-fault traffic crash.At this time, our agency has an open administrative investigation that will parallel the investigation being conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The purpose of our investigation is to determine whether the shooting was consistent with agency policy and training, while the investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is to determine whether the deputy’s actions were within the statutory provisions for use of force by a law enforcement officer. We are fully committed to ensuring that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has everything it needs to conduct its investigation. We ask that members of our community remain calm as these investigations take place, as the findings from each will be made public as soon as they are available.
Because these investigations are active and ongoing, no further information is available.”
-Captain John Herrell, Lake County Sheriff’s Office
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