Deputy fatally shot; suspect dead

By Casey Cora and Ben Montgomery
Published August 15, 2007

BRANDON -- Hillsborough Sheriff's deputy Sgt. Ron Harrison was shot and killed early Wednesday as he drove his cruiser around Lumsden Road and Kings Avenue.

About an hour later, SWAT team members killed the suspect, officials say.

The Sheriff's Office has identified the suspected shooter as Michael Allen Phillips, 24, of 1707 Village Court.

When investigators and a SWAT team arrived at that address about 2 a.m., the suspect fired a "large caliber weapon" at authorities while barricaded inside, according to sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway.

The SWAT team fired back and Phillips was killed. It is unclear how many shots were fired by Phillips or by officers.

Many details of the shooting remain unclear, and Callaway couldn't say whether Harrison was shot inside his cruiser or whether bullets had pierced the vehicle from the outside.

According to the Sheriff's Office Web site, deputies had been conducting an overnight DUI checkpoint in eastern Hillsborough County.

"Right now, it's all a big mystery," Callaway said.

A witness who was driving east on Lumsden Road around 1:30 a.m. told investigators that she turned onto Kings Avenue along with the Harrison's cruiser and heard gunshots moments later.

The witness, described only as a female, continued north on Kings Avenue. Shortly after, her vehicle was clipped by Harrison's gray unmarked Ford Crown Victoria cruiser as he tried to drive past. The cruiser's lights had been activated. 

Harrison's cruiser crossed into the southbound lanes of Kings Avenue and slammed into a tree, leaving  plastic shards and bunches of bark on a nearby sidewalk.

He was taken to Brandon Community Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Sometime after the shooting, authorities said Phillips' girlfriend dialed police to report that her boyfriend had shot an officer.

Around 2 a.m., investigators - including a Sheriff's SWAT unit - swarmed the neighborhood, rapping on doors warning nearby residents to turn off their lights and move away from the windows. Several neighbors reported hearing steps on their rooftops.

Jo Ann Marshall, who lives right behind the home, said two masked SWAT team members arrived at her front door.  The Marshall's provided them a ladder.

The next thing they heard was a loud "hollow thump" followed by several rounds of gunfire, said Jim Marshall.

Investigators say Phillips fired at the gathered law enforcement officers, prompting Sheriff David Gee to authorize them to return fire.

Early Wednesday, detectives gathered outside the Brandon home, searching the lawn and prodding a bullet hole that pierced the driver's side window of a Sheriff's cruiser parked on the street. At one point, investigators dismantled a security camera pointed at the front lawn.

Sheriff's SWAT team members Deputy Shawn Dugan, 29, an 8-year veteran, and Deputy Robert Scott Carr, 31, a 5-year veteran, have both been placed on routine administrative leave with pay pending review of their involvement in the shooting, the Sheriff's Office said.

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Harrison, 55, leaves behind three daughters and a son. He had been the head of the sheriff's DUI unit. 
He had been named a 2006 "Who's Who" in violence and substance abuse prevention by the Florida Prevention Partnership.

Ellen Snelling, co-chairwoman for the Tampa Alcohol Coalition, spoke with Harrison Tuesday night at the DUI check point, just hours before the shooting. He served as a member of the coalition and Snelling said the two often attended meetings together.

Snelling had joined Mothers Against Drunk Driving to take pizza and drinks to the deputies working the DUI check point. As usual, the two laughed and joked, she said.

"He was in a really good mood last night," said Snelling. "He just seemed happy. Everything went well, and to have all those different deputies and officers around him made him feel good."

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Neighbors of Phillips on Village Court said they weren't surprised that he was involved in violence.

"You knew the kid was destined for a bad end'' said Lynn D'Ovido, 62, who lives nearby. "He was always in trouble. He was always up to no good."

Three neighbors said Phillips has been involved in another shooting in the neighborhood, but no one was injured.

"Everybody around here seen it coming," said Wayne Thomas, 59. "I think everybody knew something bad was going to happen."

Residents in the neighborhood of modest, single-family homes were awakened Wednesday morning by the sound of police sirens. Some said they saw police escort the suspect's mother from the home. She was screaming and wearing nightclothes, they said. Then they heard shots fired.

[Last modified August 15, 2007, 15:35:49]