Pinellas Park police officer fatally shoots man during domestic call

A Pinellas Park police officer fatally shot a man early Tuesday while responding to a domestic dispute call, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies said.

The shooting happened about 12:40 a.m. after a woman called 911 to report that her boyfriend had arrived at the home she shared with her grandmother at 5000 94th Ave. N and was yelling in the backyard, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at news conference at the scene.

“He didn’t have any business being in the backyard and they were concerned for their safety due to his actions,” said Gualtieri, speaking on behalf of the county’s Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force.

Multiple officers with the Pinellas Park Police Department responded to the call. While two officers were at the front door speaking to the girlfriend, Cpl. Graham Fox saw the suspect, identified as 36-year-old Jared Daniel Rudderham of St. Petersburg, walking around in the backyard with a cellphone in his hand, Gualtieri said.

Three other officers went around the opposite side of the home to make contact with Rudderham. As the officers entered the backyard, Rudderham drew a semi-automatic Glock pistol from his waistband and racked the slide to load a round in the chamber, Gualtieri said. While racking the gun, Rudderham turned toward Officer Cameron Williams, who opened fire on Rudderham and hit him about four times, according to Gualtieri.

Rudderham was taken to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg, where he died. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office released his name later Tuesday morning after his family was notified of his death.

Williams, 30, has worked at the Pinellas Park Police Department since 2014.

The other officers who responded to the call were Christian Raymond, 29, and Ryan Poletz, 30, according to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators were in the process of reviewing video captured by officers’ bodyworn cameras and plan to release the footage to the public, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said.

The county’s Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force was created in 2020 so law enforcement agencies in the county no longer investigate their own use-of-force incidents.