Street Cop Training
Florida Sheriff Prefers Homeowners Shoot Burglars to Save Taxpayers Money
Some law enforcement agencies tell you that if a burglar breaks into your home, you should dial 911 and barricade yourself in a room until law enforcement arrives. That is unless you live in Santa Rosa County Florida where you are instructed to shoot the burglar to save the taxpayers some money.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson whose Facebook page shared a 6-minute-long clip of Sheriff Johnson delivering an incident briefing about a Milton, Florida man who was arrested after a burglary spree on April 20th in Pace, Florida.
32-year-old Brandon Harris was caught by Santa Rosa County deputies after breaking into multiple residences in the afternoon hours. During one of the alleged break-ins, a homeowner fired multiple shots at Harris narrowly missing. Harris quickly ran from the residence, hopped a fence, and broke into another residence where he was cornered by deputies. He was subsequently arrested after jumping headfirst out of a window. Harris was booked on 7 new charges with a bond of $157,500.
Sheriff Johnson addressed the homeowner who fired at Harris during the incident brief stating, “We don’t know what homeowner shot at him. I guess they think they did something wrong, which they did not. If somebody’s breaking into your house, you’re more than welcome to shoot them in Santa Rosa County, and we prefer that you do, actually. Whoever that was, you’re not in trouble. Come see us. We have a gun safety class we put on every other Saturday. If you take that, you’ll shoot a lot better, and hopefully, you’ll save taxpayers money.”
When questioned Sheriff Johnson referred to Harris as “job security” and given Harris’ extensive criminal history, we can see why. According to Sheriff Johnson, the first contact Harris had with Santa Rosa County was when he was 13 years old. Sheriff Johnson stated Harris has been arrested an estimated 17 times since then with a 6-and-a-half-year prison sentence for home invasion.
In a world of law enforcement leaders tiptoeing around topics involving criminals and their blatant disregard for the law, it really is interesting to see that some leaders are not backing down. Let us know what you think about Sheriff Johnson’s invitation to shoot burglars in his county in the comment section below.
The full video of the press conference can be found on the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page or by following the link below.