The Tallahassee Police Department released a portion of the body cam footage Monday that shows the events leading to the moment police say 25- year-old Asia Fitzgerald ambushed officers at Tom Brown Park.
The May 25th incident was captured on body cam by multiple on-scene officers. The nearly 16-minute video is edited, with faces blurred out. The video is narrated by TPD spokeswoman Heather Merritt.
Moments before the shootout
As WFSU has reported, TPD officers and a Leon County deputy were responding to the park in search for Durrell Lee, who fled from a traffic drug stop earlier that night. Lee was arrested on a park bench.
Moments later another video shows an officer approximately 300 yards away, pointing his flashlight on an armed woman identified as Fitzgerald. She soon begins shooting at police.
TPD reports: Suspect had AR-style rifle and multiple magazines
According to Merritt, the woman fired at least 30 rounds at authorities before she was fatally wounded. TPD recovered a magazine from Fitzgerald.
‘Sometimes you get caught at the wrong place.’
WFSU spoke with resident Jacob O’Donnell a day after the shooting happened. O’Donnell was at the nearby volleyball court with friends when gunfire erupted.
“It kind of lightened the situation. Sometimes you get caught at the wrong place and at wrong time. Luckily, we were out of harm’s way for that situation, but you can’t stop bad people from doing bad things,” said O’Donnell.
No officers were hurt but all involved remain on administrative leave as the investigation continues. TPD says they do not know what led Fitzgerald to attack.
Who was Asia Fitzgerald?
According to police records, she was homeless and living out of her van with a friend who was shown being detained in the video, but later released. That person hasn’t been identified, but according to officers’ comments on video, he was on an FBI watch list.
During a press conference last month, Deputy Police Chief Jason Laursen made a reference to that.
“Law enforcement had knowledge from other agencies in the area, that this person was a threat to law enforcement,” said Laursen. “The male and female that were together, were considered threatening towards law enforcement.”
TPD reports: One suspect in custody
Lee is facing multiple drug and weapon charges, including possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, trafficking heroin, and trafficking cocaine.
