Florida Concealed Carry Gun Holder Shoots, Kills Man Who Was Beating A Cop

A Florida concealed-carry gun holder shot and killed a man who was beating a police officer during an altercation following a traffic stop, and his actions are credited with possibly saving the officer’s life, WZVN (Ft. Myers) is reporting.

The incident took place Monday morning on Interstate 75, near the Corkscrew Road exit near the town of Estero. Eyewitness Nicole Ambrosini said she was driving down the highway when a blue Toyota, driving at “a very fast rate,” came up in her rearview mirror and then passed her. The vehicle was being pursued by a Lee County Sheriff’s deputy, whom authorities say had tried to pull over the vehicle, but the driver fled. Ambrosini estimates that the fleeing driver was approaching speeds of up to 120 miles per hour.

“There was a lot of other lives that he was putting at risk, including mine and my daughter’s.”

Then the fleeing suspect swerved onto the left shoulder. Then, say witnesses, the driver got out of the car and approached the deputy.

“I saw the deputy and the suspect out of their cars with the doors both wide open and they were some type of altercation.”

Another witness, Shanta Holditch, said that the assailant was mercilessly attacking the deputy.

“He just kept beating him and beating him. [He was] throwing him to the ground and punching him in all different directions.”

It was then that a passerby intervened.

The man, who has not been identified as of this writing, approached the suspect and, according to WINK-TV (Ft. Myers), told him that he (the Good Samaritan) would kill the assailant if he didn’t stop. Meanwhile, the officer was yelling at the armed man, “Shoot him! Shoot him!” The assailant continued beating the cop, so the man fired three shots into him, according to a witness who only identify himself as “Mr. Smith.”

“I heard like three shots. He fell down on top of the police officer. After a moment, the police officer rolled him back over, got on his mic, then rolled over back on the ground besides the guy.”

Moments later, backup arrived — Mr. Smith says he tried to get out of the way, but was surrounded — and started scouring the scene for evidence.

The officer, identified as Deputy First Class Dean Bardes, a 12-year-veteran of the force, was rushed to the hospital but is apparently going to be OK. It is unclear whether or not he fired his own weapon at the suspect.

An ambulance arrived on the scene, and witnesses reported seeing paramedics attempting to perform CPR. The assailant, who as of this writing has not been identified, did not survive his injuries, however, and was later pronounced dead.

One dead after shooting at I-75 ramp by Corkscrew Road https://t.co/gQedu8Uz5i #SWFL pic.twitter.com/B7Hzrrtp1v

— The News-Press (@TheNewsPress) November 14, 2016

As for the Good Samaritan who intervened, he, too, has not been identified as of this writing. WZVN-TV speculated that he may have been an off-duty police officer as opposed to just a random passerby, but has not been able to confirm that. WINK-TV would only confirm that he was legally allowed to carry a concealed weapon.

Witness “Mr. Smith” describes the man as a prototypical “good guy with a gun.”

“The guy that protected, shot the bad guy, was a guy that pulled over on the ramp and saw the guy beating the officer. He pulled out his gun.”

I-75 was closed in both directions at the scene of the incident for about nine hours, backing up traffic for several miles, but was re-opened later Monday night.

Police have not yet announced whether or not the man who shot the assailant will face any criminal charges.

[Featured Image by carl ballou/Shutterstock]