Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd provided new details Tuesday about the deadly deputy involved shooting a day earlier near Lake Wales.
- Deputies: Quentin Case drew weapon on deputy after pursuit
- At one point, Case tried to get into patrol car, Judd said
- More than 50 rounds were fired by deputies in shootout
Judd said Deputy Clifford Wofford spotted 34-year-old Quentin Case going 112 mph on a motorcycle on Highway 60 and followed him to a side road. There, he spotted Case standing next to a motorcycle, which was lying on its side on the ground.
Judd said the deputy told investigators that's when Case pulled a gun on him.
“He pulls the gun on me, and he fires a shot,” said Judd, quoting Wofford. Judd said the deputy returned fire, and Case ran into a nearby orange grove.
The shootout continued moments later, according to Judd.
“[Wofford] says, 'The suspect runs back out and tries to gets in my patrol car, and he shoots at me again, and I shoot at him again. And we have another exchange of gunfire,'” Judd said.
Eventually, another deputy, Clayton Coquyt, arrived at the scene, and both deputies shot Case while he was on ground but still armed, Judd said.
“And when he picks the gun up again, both deputies shoot at him, and he’s deceased at the scene,” Judd said.
Judd said deputies fired more than 50 rounds in the shootout, and Case was struck at least 13 times.
“We don’t choose to shoot people; they chose for us to shoot them," Judd said. "And if you choose for us to shoot at you, we are going to shoot at you a lot.”
Both deputies are on standard administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducts an investigation.
Case’s family declined to comment about the shooting.