Man Shot In Driveway Trying To Get Cigarette

A man was shot in his driveway while trying to get a cigarette.

Roy Middleton was trying to get a cigarette out of his mother’s car, when local deputies shot him. In retrospect, lying in a hospital bed, all he could think was why did that happen.

Around 2am on Saturday, Roy Middleton, 60, was seen in the driveway of his own home looking in his mother’s car for a loose cigarette. A neighbor saw him and must have mistook him for a burglar trying to break into the car, calling 911. He had been bent over in his search when he heard a voice behind him commanding him to put his hands where they could see them.

Roy Middleton initially thought someone was just joking with him and turned to see who it was, only to find it was a group of deputies standing halfway into the driveway. He did as he was told, backing out with his hands up, and as he turned around, they opened fire.

The man shot in his driveway said he felt like he was on the receiving end of a firing squad as he was shot in the leg.

A teenage girl who witnessed part of the incident said that from what she saw, Roy Middleton hadn’t done anything to antagonize the deputies. As it is, the deputies involved in the shooting from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office have been placed on paid administrative leave. The Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the situation. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating.

Roy Middleton, the man shot in his driveway, was quoted as saying, “I’m just glad they didn’t hit me [in the head or chest]. My mother’s car is full of bullet holes though. My wife had to go and get a rental.”

Florida man (yes, he is black) shot by police in his own driveway, police decline to comment. Uh, yeah. http://t.co/pS6J6cKvS1

— MKSinSA (@mksinsa) July 28, 2013

By that afternoon, there was no evidence that the shooting had occurred, despite the area having earlier been congested with police officers and yellow crime scene tape.

What do you think may have started the incident of the man shot in his driveway? What may have set the sheriff’s deputies off?