Tactical

Video Shows Florida Deputies Fatally Shoot Man During Wellness Check

Dec. 9, 2024

Hillsborough deputies fatally shot a man who aimed a gun at them after an apparent suicide attempt on Saturday.

By Jack Prator

Source Tampa Bay Times (TNS)

TAMPA -- Hillsborough deputies fatally shot a man who aimed a gun at them after an apparent suicide attempt on Saturday, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Dispatchers received a 911 call shortly after 11 p.m. from a woman who said her husband, Anthony Dadante, 67, closed himself inside their bathroom and wanted to die by suicide.

Deputies were sent to their home in the 10000 block of Courtney Palm Boulevard, in the Courtney Palms condo complex near the junction of U.S. 301 the Selmon Expressway, and the woman reported hearing a gunshot while they were on the way, Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said in a statement released by the sheriff’s office.

When deputies arrived, the woman said Dadante was still inside the bathroom. Deputies entered and found him alive in the bathtub with the shower curtain drawn halfway, Maurer said.

When Deputy Jose Rodriguez pulled back the curtain, he saw Dadante was armed and had blood on his chest.

“It appears that he tried to commit suicide but was unsuccessful,” Maurer said.

Both Rodriguez and Deputy Jenna Roberts asked Dadante to drop the firearm several times, according to body camera footage released by the agency.

Dadante pointed the firearm at Rodriguez, and both deputies shot Dadante multiple times, killing him, Maurer said.

Investigators said Dadante did not have a criminal history and records showed there had been no prior 911 calls at the address.

Rodriguez, 29, has been with the agency since March 2022. Roberts, also 29, started with the department in September 2017.

Neither deputy has been involved in a prior use of force with the sheriff’s office, Maurer said.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.

Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement that deputies made the right decision in opening fire.

“What began as a response to a potential suicide changed into a life-threatening confrontation that no deputy ever wants to face,” Chronister said. “Our deputies had to make a tough decision in an instant, and it was the right one.”

Need help?

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, reach out to the 24–hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255; contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741; or chat with someone online at suicidepreventionlifeline.org. The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay can be reached by dialing 211 or by visiting crisiscenter.com.