ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Windermere police had enough problems. Now, they have to answer new questions after a police officer opened fire this weekend.
The officer shot at a 23-year-old near Park Avenue, but missed. The officer says the suspect tried to hit him with his car twice, and the second time Windermere Police Officer Robert German fired two shots at Jesse Harrison.
Some police departments don't allow officers to fire at moving cars. The sheriff's office is investigating.
The Windermere police patrol car has a smashed hubcap and minor damage to the rear wheel well. Runaway driver Jesse Harrison's car is dented.
Officer German said, when he walked up to ticket Harrison for driving with a suspended license, Harrison accelerated backwards toward him and hit the patrol vehicle. The officer said he jumped into his backseat for protection, but Harrison rammed the Durango again. The officer said he feared for his life and opened fire.
"What the police officer has to see is they have to see an imminent threat either to another driver, to a pedestrian, to somebody in the area, either themselves or someone else, and they can articulate that threat," police expert Dr. Richard Weinblatt explained.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating whether the shooting was justified or violated policy. Harrison would not talk to WFTV on Monday at the Orange County jail where he's still being held, but when he was arrested he told WFTV it was all a misunderstanding.
"I was on the phone arguing with my girlfriend. I wasn't paying attention to the road," he said.
This is Officer German's first police job. No one was hurt or killed, so Windermere Police Chief Mike McCoy put him back to work.
"You can imagine a young officer shoots his gun, he's pretty upset, so we obviously gave him a couple days off, but he didn't kill anybody and he's handling it very well," McCoy said.
There hasn't been a police shooting in Windermere for almost forty years. Officers can legally open fire if they fear for their lives. McCoy says, so far, Saturday's shooting appears to be justified.
Previous Stories: February 19, 2011: Windermere Officer Opens Fire During Traffic Stop
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