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Officer's Gunfire Justified

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 16, 2008

CLEARWATER - A Clearwater policeman who fired on a burglar fleeing the officer's Tarpon Springs home in December did nothing wrong, according to results of an internal affairs investigation released Friday.

Officer Eliad Glenn's actions on Dec. 19 did not taint either his reputation or that of the Clearwater Police Department, his supervisors concluded after the investigation. Still, Glenn has to undergo additional training on laws and department policies that touch on the use of force, the investigative report states.

Glenn told authorities he was taking a shower when he heard someone at his front door. Glenn got out of the shower and was walking toward the front door when he saw through the door's frosted glass that someone was walking away, the report states.

Glenn returned to his bedroom and heard something from another side of the house, the report states. His dog started barking, and he realized someone had broken in, he told investigators.

Glenn retrieved his personal Kel-Tec .380-caliber handgun from the bottom drawer of a nightstand about the same time a man opened the door and began to walk in, the report states. Glenn immediately yelled at him to get out, and the man bolted, yelling, "He's got a gun," the report states.

Glenn told authorities he thought the man was talking to an accomplice in the house, the report states. He also told authorities he was naked as he chased the man through the house and saw him slip on a throw rug and fall.

The man ran into the garage and, as he reached a door, turned toward Glenn, the report states. Glenn told authorities one of the man's hands was in the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt and it appeared he was reaching for or holding a weapon.

Glenn fired one shot at him. He wasn't sure whether he hit him.

After the man ran outside, Glenn ran after him and fired additional rounds at him from his gated yard, the report states. The man hopped into a car, and Glenn told investigators he thought he fired at the car, too.

It was determined that the man had taken a Christmas present from Glenn's home, the report states.

"Glenn reported that he was in fear and felt very vulnerable based on the circumstances under which the encounter occurred," the report states. "He had just exited the shower unclothed and encountered a burglar in his home.

"He was unsure if the suspect was armed and saw that he was carrying something. Glenn also felt that he was outnumbered, believing that there was another unseen suspect in his home."

A detective concluded that what Glenn saw the burglar carrying probably was the Christmas present he had stolen, the report states.

When Tarpon Springs police arrived, Glenn told one of them he didn't shoot at the man in the house because "he didn't want to make a mess," the report states.

Asked about the remark by internal affairs, Glenn is quoted as saying, "Honestly, if I would've shot in the house and made a mess, my fiancee would've killed me.

"So I waited while he was still on my property on the garage to take the first shot. And again, the reason I took that shot was because the way his body turned back at me with his hand hidden," he is quoted as saying.

After the car took off, Glenn called 911 and put on his ballistic vest, gun belt and uniform pants, the report states.

Glenn, who was not on duty at the time of the shooting, was judged as a private citizen, not as a police officer, said Clearwater public safety spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly-Watts.

Under Florida law, residents generally are allowed to kill an intruder if they think the intruder could hurt or kill them.

Most police department policies prohibit officers from firing on people running away from them who no longer pose a threat.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompsson@tampatrib.com.

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