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MPs acquitted after shooting and injuring man in 2023

Three days before Scott Michael Peltier was shot and wounded by three Marion County sheriff's deputies, he received a warning for trespassing on a large property off U.S. 41, just outside the Dunnellon city limits.

Peltier, a U.S. Army veteran, ignored the warning and returned to the site. The property manager later told a Star-Banner reporter that he had spoken to Peltier several times about staying away from the site.

On Sept. 20, officers went to the location, which is in a densely wooded area off U.S. 41, and saw Peltier. Officers and Peltier were talking, and he was armed. He was told not to touch the gun, but he did. Peltier pulled out the gun and was shot by officers, according to the sheriff's office report of the incident.

He is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, trespassing at gunpoint and resisting an officer with violence. So far, the 60-year-old Dunnellon man has been declared mentally/physically incompetent to stand trial, according to court records. His next court date is scheduled for December.

Meanwhile, as is customary in such cases, the shooting was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The agents sent their report to the state attorney's office for review, and the office concluded that the officers acted lawfully in shooting Peltier.

Assistant Chief Prosecutor Walter Forgie said state law “authorizes police officers to use any force they deem necessary during an arrest to protect themselves or another person from physical harm.”

Forgie added that another state law “allows a person to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily harm to himself or herself or another person.”

In this case, he said, “the use of deadly force by these officers was clearly reasonable and therefore lawful under the circumstances.”

Although Privates Noah McLain and Maxwell Coleman and Detective Jefferson Lavery have not been criminally charged, the sheriff's office is conducting an internal investigation into the matter, per its protocol. Sheriff's officials said the investigation is ongoing.

In addition, a shooting watchdog committee will investigate the incident.

This was the first time McLain, Coleman and Lavery were involved in a shootout.

The officers were given paid leave as usual the day of the shooting and returned to duty on Oct. 11. McLain has been with the department for just over 14 years. Coleman has been there for nearly 6 1/2 years and Lavery for nearly 14 years.

Report of the Public Prosecutor’s Office

In his report, Forgie said Peltier received a trespassing citation from a deputy on Sept. 17. Peltier was told that if he was found armed on the property, he would be charged with trespassing with a weapon.

On September 20, officers were again called to the property to check if Peltier was still there. Officers found Peltier in a makeshift fortified area.

Deputies ordered Peltier to come out. When he did, he “made incoherent statements and disregarded deputies' orders,” Forgie wrote.

The prosecutor said Peltier carried a revolver in a holster on his left side.

“Officers instructed Peltier not to touch his weapon as he paced back and forth. The offender then removed the weapon from the holster. After initially pointing the weapon downward toward the ground, Peltier raised the weapon and pointed it at an officer. At that moment, three MCSO officers fired their weapons at Peltier, who was hit multiple times but survived,” Forgie wrote.

According to the report, an officer with a body camera recorded the shooting.

Peltier denied being a threat

Officers administered first aid to Peltier. When medical personnel arrived, Peltier was taken to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, where he was treated for gunshot wounds to his upper arm and leg, the report said.

At his first court appearance in late September, Peltier said the shots struck his leg and head. He is in a wheelchair and his right hand is bandaged from elbow to wrist.

Sheriff's officials said Peltier's injuries were not life-threatening.

When detectives questioned Peltier, he told them he did not remember receiving a trespassing warning or anyone explaining anything to him. He said he did not remove the gun from the holster and the gun may have fallen out of the protective gear.

Hearing: Charges against man who pointed gun at police officers delayed. Find out why.

He told investigators he was upset when officers opened the fence near his residence and asked for a military lawyer.

Contact Austin L. Miller at [email protected]

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