According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Hillsborough police officers fatally shot whoever pointed a gun at them after an apparent suicide attempt on Saturday.
Dispatch received a 911 call shortly after 11 p.m. from a woman who said her husband, Anthony Dadante, 67, locked himself in their bathroom and wanted to commit suicide.
Officers were dispatched to their home in the 10000 block of Courtney Palm Boulevard, in the Courtney Palms apartment complex near the intersection of U.S. 301 and the Selmon Expressway, and the woman reported hearing a gunshot along the way, Chief Deputy Joseph Maurer said. in a statement released by the sheriff’s office.
When emergency services arrived, the woman said Dadante was still in the bathroom. Officers entered and found him alive in the bathtub, with the shower curtain halfway open, Maurer said.
When Deputy Jose Rodriguez pulled back the curtain, he saw Dadante was armed and had blood on his chest.
“It appears he tried to commit suicide but couldn’t,” Maurer said.
Both Rodriguez and Deputy Jenna Roberts asked Dadante several times to drop the firearm, according to body camera footage released by the department.
Dadante pointed the gun at Rodriguez, and both officers shot Dadante multiple times, killing him, Maurer said.
Investigators said Dadante had no criminal history and records showed there had been no previous 911 calls at the address.
Rodriguez, 29, has been with the agency since March 2022. Roberts, also 29, started with the department in September 2017.
Neither deputy has been involved in any prior use of force at the sheriff’s office, Maurer said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.
Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement that deputies made the right decision by opening fire.
“What started as a response to a possible suicide turned into a life-threatening confrontation that no deputy ever wants to face,” Chronister said. “Our officers had to make a difficult decision on the fly, and it was the right one.”
Need help?
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255; contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741; or chat with someone online at suicidepreventionlifeline.org. The Tampa Bay Crisis Center can be reached by calling 211 or visiting crisiscenter.com.
