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Man shot during fight with police officer

Lt. Greg Totz, police say, was attacked by the man while investigating an unrelated incident on Seventh Avenue N.

By ALEX LEARY
Published September 21, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - A 41-year-old man was shot several times by a police lieutenant early Tuesday after he punched and kicked the officer and went for his gun, authorities said.

The altercation outside apartments at 711 Seventh Ave. N came as the officer was headed to an unrelated incident down the street about 1:30 a.m.

"It appears (the suspect) was agitated by the presence of police officers in the area," police spokesman Bill Proffitt said.

Levency Keith Burton was treated at Bayfront Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries. Then he was taken to the county jail and booked on charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and depriving an officer of means of protection.

Lt. Greg Totz was also treated at Bayfront and released. While the shooting is investigated, Totz will be taken off the street and assigned to administrative duty.

A 30-year veteran, Totz was working Tuesday as midnight shift watch commander. Shortly after 1:30 a.m., he drove to assist officers investigating a suspected drug deal in an alley east of 725 Seventh Ave. N.

About a block away, Totz came upon a man who stood on the sidewalk and shouted profanities in his direction. Totz, according to a police account, stopped his cruiser and requested backup.

"Our investigation is still preliminary but it appears that Burton physically accosted Lt. Totz on the street," Proffitt said.

Totz used pepper spray, but Burton, who is 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, knocked him down and began to punch and kick him, Proffitt said. Then, he added, the men struggled for possession of Totz's Glock handgun.

Totz fired several shots, hitting Burton once in the upper body and a few times in the arms and legs. The precise number of shots was unavailable Tuesday, Proffitt said.

According to a police report, Burton said later: "I attacked the officer. I hit him and kicked him."

Records show Burton has a history of run-ins with police, with arrests for assaulting an officer, carrying a concealed weapon and aggravated battery with a weapon.

Totz, 53, has been involved in five shootings in his three decades on the force. All were ruled justified by the department. Two were fatal, the last in 1998 when, police said, a man tried to take Totz's weapon and throw him over a railing.

St. Petersburg police are preparing to purchase Tasers, but Proffitt said the stun gun would not have mattered in this case: "A Taser is not an alternative to deadly force. In this situation, Lt. Totz clearly articulated he was in fear for his life."

It was unclear Tuesday what Burton was doing in the area, though he lives around the corner on Grove Street N. Police said his presence was not related to the original drug call to which Totz responded.

No one was home at Burton's apartment building Tuesday afternoon except for a neighbor who said he kept to himself.

One man, 30-year-old Dennis Cote, said the area is so unsafe at night he moved away two weeks ago.

"As soon as the sun goes down you have prostitutes, drug dealers, undercover (officers)," Cote said. "You're constantly watching out for yourself."

Alex Leary can be reached at 893-8472 or leary@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 21, 2005, 00:54:55]