‘These people just don’t learn’: Sheriff releases video of St. Pete officer shooting at man recently released from prison

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The officers who returned fire on a suspect who allegedly shot at two other people minutes earlier on Saturday did a great job handling the situation, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a Tuesday news conference.

“This is really textbook,” Gualtieri said, while outlining the events that led up to the shooting.

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Gualtieri praised the officers and the training they received. He highlighted how one officer appropriately switched to less lethal force when he noticed that the suspect, Germaine Small, 28, had dropped his gun while running away.

Neither officer was injured.

Small was at the Shady Side Food Mart at 4200 15th Avenue South in St. Petersburg at about 5:30 p.m. when he had some sort of interaction with someone in a gray sedan, which investigators believe is a newer model Honda Accord.

Small was armed with a Glock 9mm handgun with a 50-round drum magazine, officials said.

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Surveillance video captured Small walking down the sidewalk and then turning around when the car pulls into an alleyway. A single gunshot can be heard before the car, with tires squealing, drove off.

Editor’s note: Some viewers may find the body cam video below disturbing. Viewer discretion advised.

Deputies have not yet learned who was in the car, but they don’t believe anyone in the car was injured. They’re also unsure what interaction was had between Small and whoever was in the vehicle.

Small then walked south on 42nd Street, officials said. Small later was walking down the street with his shirt off and the gun wrapped in the shirt. A 70-year-old man, who is partially blind, was standing in his yard when Small walked past. Deputies said Small repeatedly tried to get the man’s attention and then fired two shots in his direction.

The man ran into his home and was not hit, according to officials.

Small continued walking south and then turned east onto 17th Avenue South, Gualtieri said, where he was spotted by an officer.

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A citizen nearby saw Small in the yard with a gun and told him to give himself up, Gualtieri said. Small ignored the citizen and walked through an open lot, where an officer pulled up.

Small took off and pointed his gun at the officer, according to the sheriff’s office. Small eventually shot toward an officer, who fired 13 rounds in return. Small was grazed in the head by a bullet and taken to a hospital, where he remained until Monday.

After being hit, Small continued to run across the street where he dropped his gun, got onto the ground and was taken into custody, Gualtieri said.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that gun was stolen,” Gualtieri said.

A total of six minutes passed from the time Small shot into the car at the food mart to when he was taken into custody, Gualtieri said.

Small was charged with one count of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, one count of attempted murder, and felon in possession of a firearm, Gualtieri said.

Gualtieri said Small’s motive is unknown, but it appeared to be a random act of violence.

Gualtieri noted Small’s criminal history of nine other felony charges, including battery on a school board employee. Small had been in state prison for the last nine years after being convicted of an armed robbery in 2014 on the Pinellas Trail. He was released from prison on March 2.

“These people just don’t learn,” Gualtieri said. “They just don’t get it. They don’t learn their lesson.”

“I don’t even know what to say about it,” he added. “It almost makes you speechless.”

Gualtieri said he believes the officers were justified in their actions.

“Everything that I see here, it’s absolutely a justified shooting, and they did everything as well as it could be done, and I see no issues or problems with it at all,” Gualtieri said.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is continuing the criminal portion of the investigation, and then the St. Petersburg Police Department will investigate it from a department policy perspective.

If convicted, Small faces a mandatory minimum life sentence under the Florida Prisoner Release Reoffender law, Gualtieri said.

Anyone with information about the vehicle in the photo is asked to call 727-582-6161.

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