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Shooting by deputy is called justified
By MONIQUE FIELDS, Times Staff Writer CLEARWATER -- A Pinellas County sheriff's deputy was acting properly when he fired one shot from his 9mm gun and wounded Michael Seitz of New Port Richey on Monday night, sheriff's officials said Tuesday. Seitz, 23, was spotted at 8:45 p.m. driving his van erratically on U.S. 19 in Palm Harbor. Motorists flagged down deputies while others called 911 to report a possible drunken driver. But Seitz refused to pull his 1984 Dodge van over and instead led the deputies on a 5-mile, low-speed chase southbound to Sunset Point Road. There, deputies surrounded the car and ordered Seitz to put his vehicle in park, but he rammed it into the 2000 Jeep Wrangler stopped in front of him, pushing the Jeep some 30 feet. Deputy Casey Gonzalez fired at Seitz, hitting him in the hand and the head. Seitz was taken by helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, where he was in serious condition late Tuesday afternoon. "For the safety of the deputies at the scene, Deputy Casey Gonzalez fired the one shot to stop the aggression, and that was the reason why the use of deadly force was permitted," said Sgt. Greg Tita, sheriff's office spokesman. Sheriff's Office procedure dictates that a deputy may fire a weapon only when his life or someone else's life is in danger. Tita said the lives of the deputies, two people in the Jeep and others traveling in the intersection were in danger Monday night. Seitz's wife, Desiree Seitz, said she isn't certain what to believe about the shooting. "I feel he was in the wrong for shooting my hubby," she said of the deputy. "If they can prove otherwise that my husband did something and the cop was in danger, I am going to say I can understand the cop trying to protect himself." She said her husband has received a diagnosis of bipolar, intermittent explosive disorder, attention deficit disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder. He has been sent to jail under the Baker Act four times for self-mutilation, she said. In December 2000, he rammed his truck into his wife's van, which broke through the wall of the family's living room in Pasco County. Seitz was supposed to pick up his wife, a hairdresser, at work at 8 p.m. Monday, she said. He was late, so her mother picked her up. She reached him on her cellular phone while she was in Tarpon Springs. He was at Alderman and U.S. 19 at the time, she said. She agreed to meet him at the hairdresser's. On the way, she stumbled upon the scene. "I saw it was my van," she said. "I freaked out." Gonzalez, 31, was standing 5 to 10 feet from Seitz when he fired at the van's vent window. He is an eight-year veteran and received "better than satisfactory" marks on his 2001 evaluation, records show. He was placed on routine administrative leave, pending the results of an internal investigation. "It doesn't appear that any policies that are in place have been misused or violated," Tita said. "And it appears that after reviews and all considerations, it will be favorable to Deputy Gonzalez." Seitz was admitted to the hospital and charged with two counts of aggravated assault. This was not the first time Seitz had found himself in trouble. He has an extensive criminal record, including battery and several traffic infractions. Seitz pleaded no contest in October to driving on a suspended license and received six months' probation. He violated his probation when he was arrested this year for possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia, both misdemeanors. On March 22, he received a year's probation on the possession charges. He was in court last week on the violation of a probation charge. A judge gave him time served. -- Staff writers Ryan Davis and Cary Davis and researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
