Tarpon Springs Cop Cleared In Fatal Shooting

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — The Tarpon Springs Police officer who shot and killed an armed Palm Harbor man during a May 6 altercation is back on the beat after Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe concluded the use of deadly force was justified.

The Tarpon Springs Police Department on Friday released a copy of the letter McCabe sent following his office’s investigation into the shooting. The agency also announced that Officer Scott MacIsaac has been placed back on full-duty status.

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While the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has not yet completed its probe into the death of Nicholas Provenza, 25, the agency’s investigators have “advised that nothing outside of what was outlined in the (State Attorney’s Office’s) letter has been uncovered,” Chief Robert P. Kochen wrote in a Friday email to media.

The incident that led to Provenza’s death began to unfold just after 1:30 p.m. May 6. MacIsaac was working off-duty at a car show in the downtown area when he was approached by attendees who said a suspicious white male was riding a bicycle “wearing an orange jacket with the hood pulled over his head,” the police department wrote in an email following the shooting.

See also: Officer In Tarpon Springs Shooting Identified

Provenza was reportedly in the area of Tarpon and Safford avenues at the time. The officer made contact with him and called out over the radio the name and date of birth Provenza had given him. Police said nothing came back on the name provided, leading to the officer to advise “that he gave him a fake name.” Provenza reportedly gave the officer another name, which the officer relayed over the radio, the email said.

“Then there was silence, and then the officer came over the radio stating ‘shots fired,’ ‘shots fired,’ ‘shots fired,’” the email said. The officer then said, “he came at me with a knife,’” the agency added.

Provenza was taken to a local hospital, but was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. MacIsaac was not injured, the agency reported.

McCabe’s investigation revealed Provenza had a history of mental health issues that resulted in “multiple contacts with law enforcement and the mental health community.” The day prior to the shooting, Provenza “had multiple contacts with law enforcement for various reasons,” the letter said. He was ultimately detained under the Baker Act that evening after allegedly making threats to harm his girlfriend, the letter added.

After being brought into protective custody, Provenza was reported missing from Largo Medical Center at 8:30 p.m. May 5, the letter noted. A countywide “missing endangered BOLO was issued.” McCabe said law enforcement did not come into contact with Provenza again until the incident at the car show.

Seven witnesses to the May 6 altercation told investigators a similar story of the events that occurred, McCabe noted. While each had different vantage points, McCabe wrote that all seven said Provenza became increasingly agitated during his encounter with MacIsaac. “All of them stated Provenza was the aggressor.”

Three additional witnesses also told investigators “that when Provenza charged towards the officer he had an object in his hand they thought was a knife or ‘shank,’” McCabe wrote.

One witness, however, insisted that Provenza dropped the knife, turned his back on the officer and was then fired upon twice. “This witness’s account of the shooting is inconsistent with all other witnesses, the evidence collected at the scene and the autopsy findings,” McCabe said. Her testimony, as a result, “played no part in the findings and conclusions by my office.”

How soon FDLE’s investigation will be completed remains unclear. McCabe’s office, however, has concluded that it “was reasonable for Officer MacIsaac to believe that it was necessary to use deadly force to defend himself in order to prevent his own imminent death or great bodily harm.”

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