LARGO, Fla. -- A March shooting involving a Largo police officer has been ruled a justifiable homicide, according to the State's Attorney Office.
- Officer Matthew Steiner cleared of shooting
- Linus Phillips Jr. pinned Steiner between vehicle, gas pumps
- Police confirm funeral home incident after Phillips' death
The shooting happened on March 23, during a traffic stop at a gas station on North Missouri Avenue.
During the traffic stop, Linus Phillips Jr. reportedly attempted to pin Officer Matthew Steiner between his vehicle and the gas pumps.
Video shows Steiner get up from the ground as the car is going in reverse at a high speed. A second camera angle shows that part a little better.
"Officer Steiner was in the car fighting for the gear shift of the car. The car was put into reverse by Mr. Phillip,” said Largo Police Lt. Randall Chaney.
"As the car accelerated backwards, Officer Steiner was in the car attempting to control. It appears that he might have been falling out of the car at the time he fired four rounds from within the car."
Steiner shot Phillip four times, according to the State's Attorney report. Phillips was transported to Largo Medical Center, where he died.
Largo police said Stiner approved Phillip at the pump to ask about his tinted car window and smelled marijuana.
Phillip's father says the videos released don't give him closure.
"Oh my goodness. Doesn't really tell a full tale to me," said Linus Phillips. "It's very disturbing though just to see that and knowing that this was his last moment."
Largo police confirm they went to a funeral home and tried to use the dead man's finger to open his cell phone.
"The detectives at the time attempted to, to deactivate the security features of the phone. It's not, it's an investigative technique and so far we're not finding that they did anything wrong in doing that."
Asked if the detectives got into the phone, Chaney said, "No."