Officer-Involved Shooting In St. Pete Under Investigation: Sheriff

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Detectives with the Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force are investigating an officer-involved shooting in St. Petersburg, authorities said.

St. Petersburg police officers responded to reports of shots fired in the area of 2800 Freemont Terrace South on Saturday just after 4 a.m., according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office news release. The caller said the shooting suspect was wearing all black.

When they got to the area, officers Austin Heard, 24, and Steve Blanda, 37, saw a man, later identified as Vernon A. Miller, who matched the suspect’s description.

Miller, 48, who was wearing all black, was standing in the doorway of a parked van and holding a gun in his hand, the sheriff’s office said.

After the officers told him to drop the weapon, Miller turned toward them with the gun.

Heard shot at the suspect several times, hitting Miller in the abdomen, the sheriff’s office said.

Miller was brought to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Both officers were uninjured in the incident.

Detectives found a spent shell casing at the scene that didn’t belong to either officer.