Florida Jury Sides With Deputy in Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Jurors in Florida’s Panhandle say a sheriff’s deputy did not use excessive force when he shot and killed an unarmed man in 2009.

Jeffery Weekley’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2012. Authorities said the shooting happened as Walton County Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Embry tried to serve a trespass warning to Weekley in the woods near Weekley’s Freeport home.

Weekley’s family said Embry used excessive force and the sheriff’s office failed to properly investigate or discipline Embry.

The News Herald reporrted that the jury deliberated Thursday in U.S. District Court in Panama City before concluding that Weekley posed an imminent threat to Embry and the deputy had probable cause to use deadly force.

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation previously found that Embry believed Weekley had a pocket knife.