JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the first time, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released body cam footage of a police officer shooting and killing an armed man.
Officer Tyler Landreville shot and killed Frankie Feliciano as he held a knife to the throat of a homeless veteran in a wheelchair downtown in July 2019, police said. The video, shown below, is a portion of the body camera footage that was released to News4Jax, which has been edited due to its graphic nature.
As News4Jax previously reported, JSO Chief of Investigations T.K. Waters said Landreville was the first to arrive at the scene, and witnesses pointed him in the direction of the assault. The footage released by the Sheriff’s Office shows Landreville jogging toward the incident.
The video shows Landreville confront Feliciano, who is holding a knife to the neck of a man in a wheelchair, whose arm is pinned back. “Put the (expletive) knife down,” Landreville warns Feliciano, who turns his head to face the officer.
Landreville then fires a burst of three shots, striking Feliciano multiple times. “Oh, thank God,” the man in the wheelchair cries out, as Feliciano collapses to the ground.
Feliciano, 33, died at the scene.
News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson took a look at the video.
“You can’t wait and hope that he complies when he has a knife directly on the flesh of this person,” Jefferson said. “The suspect looks at him, he does not move the knife away from the neck of the individual. He could’ve easily shoved it there and killed him.”
Landreville was placed on administrative leave, which is routine for all police shootings.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Response to Resistance Board ruled that the shooting was within the departmental guidelines for use of force. Before that, the State Attorney’s Office ruled the shooting justifiable.
It’s the second shooting involving Landreville, who previously shot and killed 22-year-old Vernell Bing Jr., who rammed Landreville’s patrol car during a 2016 police pursuit through Springfield. The shooting, which prompted an FBI review, was ruled justified by the State Attorney’s Office.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Feliciano had eight previous arrests, six of which were in Jacksonville. Waters said Feliciano’s latest arrest was on Feb. 25, on a charge of aggravated battery using a lug wrench.