Florida Deputy Shot in Chest – Saved by Bulletproof Vest
Florida man Gabriel Batista, 41, of Davenport is in the Polk County jail today after he shot a Polk County Deputy in the chest.
Luckily, Deputy Tony Nunez is alive today after he was shot because of his bulletproof vest. Had he not been wearing it, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office would be having its second funeral in eight days for a slain deputy.
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Polk Deputies Tony Nunez and Nicole Lyons were dispatched to the Tanglewood Preserve subdivision reference a domestic issue. Batista and his wife were separated, with Batista living at the apartment complex were he worked as a maintenance man, and his wife residing in the house with their children. Batista was continually calling and texting. When the wife told him not to call their daughter anymore because this was a problem between them, Batista got angry. The wife called the sheriff’s department reference a possible stalking issue.
While the wife was talking to the deputies, the suspect Gabriel Batista returned, drove past two marked Polk County patrol vehicles, and confronted the deputies in the front yard. That’s a clue folks. It means Batista is ready to kill or be killed. Batista got out of the car and confronted the deputies with his hands behind his back.
The deputies ordered Batista to show them his hands, but he refused, and slowly backed up behind his car. Deputy Lyons pulled out her taser while Nunez provided lethal cover with his pistol. As deputy Lyons deployed the taser, Batista fired 6 rounds at Deputy Nunez with his pistol striking Nunez one time, center of mass. Deputy Nunez returned fire a millisecond later firing one round, missed and had a malfunction.
A bulletproof vest saved a Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputy during a shooting Wednesday night, stated the sheriff, reports @AnthonyLeone https://t.co/6l87mYaDEU
— Spectrum News 13 (@MyNews13) October 13, 2022
A Polk County deputy was shot in the chest and survived thanks to the bulletproof vest he was wearing. @PolkCoSheriff reports the deputy is doing well and will make a full recovery. https://t.co/prOmg4OO5e pic.twitter.com/FJaRvbOLA5
— Florida Sheriffs Association (@FLSheriffs) October 13, 2022
Polk County, Florida deputy shot while wearing bulletproof vest recovering, suspect in custody https://t.co/Vz3IvVcqD1
— Blue Lives Matter 💎 (@RetiredNYCPD) October 13, 2022
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd believes that the gun jammed due to deputy Nunez falling backwards from the impact of the round striking him, which kept him from having a firm grip on his service weapon. When Batista was hit with the taser prongs, he went down and dropped his pistol.
According to the family, Batista stated he was going to be killed in a “secondhand suicide,” meaning suicide by cop. Batista later apologized and told corrections officers to tell Nunez he was sorry.
Batista was transported to the Polk County Jail where he’s being held without bond, charged with attempted 1st degree murder of LEO (2-counts), written threat to kill, resisting with violence, and discharging a firearm on residential property .
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