LAKELAND POLICE BOARD CLEARS 4 OFFICERS IN FATAL SHOOTING

The Lakeland Police Department has cleared four officers who shot a man to
death in December, but a review board recommended further training for all
officers.

Chief Sam V. Baca released his findings Friday concerning the Dec. 16
shooting death of Robert W. Laird III, 21, of 7706 Palm Brook Drive, Tampa,
as well as the findings of a lethal force review board.

The board is made up of police department personnel and a legal adviser.

``The department regrets any loss of life; unfortunately, in this instance,
it was necessary to take a life to neutralize a deadly threat and protect
the officers from death or great bodily harm,'' Baca wrote in his report.

Officers fired 43 shots during the fatal confrontation.

Last month, the four officers were also cleared of any wrongdoing by the
state attorney's office and the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Police spokesman Jack Gillen said neither he nor Baca could comment, because
Gillen said Laird's family has said they will sue the department for
wrongful death.

The Laird family couldn't be reached Friday for comment.

Police say the Dec. 16 incident began when a Lakeland police officer tried
to stop a white Chevrolet Cavalier that Laird was driving on U.S. 98 north.
The car matched the description of a vehicle used minutes earlier during an
armed holdup at the McDonald's restaurant on U.S. 98, Baca said.

Laird fled, police said, and a pursuit began. The pursuit ended when Laird
abandoned his car on Interstate 4 just outside the Elim Mobile Home Park.
Laird fled into the park, police said, and pointed a gun at officers who
were chasing him.

The officers began firing, striking Laird a total of 12 times. The lethal
force review board findings show that Laird was struck the first time 52
feet from the spot where he finally fell. Most of the wounds were
``nondisabling,'' the board's report stated. Though the four officers
involved said Laird continued to point his gun at them throughout the
shooting, and as a result they felt their lives were in danger, the board's
report found that one of the first shots fired at Laird hit his gun,
rendering it inoperable.

The board's report also noted that four mobile homes were pierced a total of
29 times by the officers' bullets. No resident was hit by the gunfire.
Though the board noted that lighting conditions were poor and Laird ``didn't
remain stationary,'' its members recommended the department send officers
for more frequent nighttime firearms training. Baca's report noted that he
has directed the department's training unit to prepare the training.

The board's report also included findings from District Medical Examiner
Stephen Nelson, which showed alcohol and marijuana in Laird's system, as
well as a ``near lethal'' concentration of a street drug called Ecstasy.