By Bianca Prieto
The Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO, Fla — Eight members of the Orlando Police SWAT team were placed on paid leave yesterday following a deadly shootout with a robbery suspect.
Dwight Antonio Nelson, 31, was shot by officers at the Lake Fairview Marina around 4:45 Thursday afternoon. He later died at Orlando Regional Medical Center.
Sgt. Scott Smith along with Officers Kevin Easterling, Hank Wong, Jonathan Bigelow, Shawn Hayden, James Craig, Terry Sanford and Timothy Stanley were placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The investigation into the use of force is standard practice, said police spokeswoman Sgt. Barbara Jones.
The SWAT team, along with the city’s robbery unit, set up on the business on North Orange Blossom Trail yesterday after receiving a tip that a robbery was going to take place that afternoon.
The team waited until Nelson showed up and watched as he put on a mask and pulled out gun, Jones said.
When officers tried to stop him, he fired at them, prompting them to shoot back, Jones said.
It’s not known how many times Nelson was shot or how many bullets were fired. That information will come when FDLE’s investigation is complete. No officers were hurt during the incident.
This is the fifth officer-involved shooting for Orlando this year.
Nelson’s criminal history includes several arrests in Pinellas County and include several arrests for drugs and robbery between 1995 and 2000.
Police are looking into whether Nelson was involved in any other unsolved robberies in the area.
Copyright 2008 The Orlando Sentinel