SATSUMA, Fla. – Newly released bodycam footage and 911 calls from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office reveal details of a deputy-involved shooting that killed a man in Satsuma on Saturday.
Deputies said the incident started Friday night when they received two calls involving 31-year-old Phillip Allen Baldwin.
Baldwin’s deadly encounter with deputies occurred following two incidents at two separate locations that caused two people to call 911.
The first call came at 11:30 p.m. on Friday from a woman on Shell Harbor Road who called “screaming for help” and referenced a carjacking, officials said.
“They’re begging for help and saying someone is trying to kill them. What do I do? My daughter is freaking out,” a frantic woman could be heard saying to a 911 operator.
“Keep your doors locked. We’re getting them out there,” the operator said.
The woman told the operator that people were banging on her door as she pleaded for help because a man armed with a gun was threatening to kill them. The banging on the door frightened the woman’s child.
“I need to get you and the kids on the far end and on the ground,” the woman said. “Get over here. Get over here now. Get down with me on the ground!”
When deputies arrived at the woman’s home, they learned the people banging on her door for help had just been carjacked at gunpoint. The carjacker was nowhere to be found. Deputies believed Baldwin was the suspect.
As deputies were responding to that call, a second call came around 12:36 a.m. Saturday involving a disturbance on North Second Street. Deputies said the caller reported a man was threatening others with a 9mm pistol.
“He has a gun. His name is Phillip Baldwin,” another caller said to 911 operators.
“You say he has a gun?” the operator asked.
“Yes,” the woman said.
New4JAX spoke with the 911 caller, who wanted to remain anonymous. She said she and her boyfriend came home, and they noticed her boyfriend’s truck was missing.
She said Baldwin was her boyfriend’s friend and was living with them. She told the operator that Baldwin was drunk, armed and threatening her boyfriend.
Witnesses at the scene identified Baldwin as the man with the gun as well, officials said.
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Once deputies located Baldwin, they attempted to approach him. However, they said Baldwin “made a gesture” of reaching for the firearm in his waistband and exposing it.
Bodycam video showed deputies rushing to the home and quickly learning that Balwin was in the backyard.
“Don’t drop those hands. I will shoot you in your face. Do you understand me?” a deputy said.
“Shoot me,” Baldwin replied.
The deputy then tells Baldwin to turn around and put his hands up.
Seconds later, the bodycam recorded Baldwin threatening to shoot the deputies because they were shining lights in his face.
“Get your light out of my face or I’m going to start shooting,” Baldwin said.
The woman who called 911 told News4JAX that Baldwin gave deputies no other choice but to use deadly force.
“As you can see, they tried to establish some dialogue with Mr. Baldwin, prior to him retreating but at the end of the day, we knew we were dealing with an armed carjacking suspect who just committed a violent crime and victimized a poor innocent person prior to this,” Sheriff Gator DeLoach said at Monday’s news conference.
DeLoach said the deputies were too far away to use their tasers. They knew Baldwin was armed so they kept their distance.
Deputies said at that time, they started firing at Baldwin, striking him multiple times. They added that immediately after firing, they rushed to him and began CPR.
Baldwin was taken to HCA Putnam Hospital where he died, deputies said.
According to a press release from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, all three deputies involved in the incident are on administrative leave per the department’s policy.
Deputies said this incident marked the first officer-involved shooting in Putnam County since 2017.
FDLE is investigating the incident. The body camera footage of the call is currently under review, deputies said.