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Belleair officer shoots man after struggle

 
A 28-year-old man is being treated for non-life threatening injuries after being shot by a Belleair police officer Monday. [JIM DAMASKE | Times]
A 28-year-old man is being treated for non-life threatening injuries after being shot by a Belleair police officer Monday. [JIM DAMASKE | Times]
Published Nov. 24, 2015

BELLEAIR — A 28-year-old man was treated and released from Bayfront Health St. Petersburg after being shot by a Belleair police officer Monday.

Employees at Fifth Third Bank on Indian Rocks Road called police after Jamaal Bishop entered the bank around 12:30 p.m. and acted suspiciously with a "large bulge" in his pocket before leaving, according to Belleair police Chief Bill Sohl.

Pinellas County sheriff's deputy Syeeta Robinson and Belleair police Officer Roy Olsen made contact with Bishop where Belleview Boulevard meets the Pinellas Trail, about a third of a mile from the bank.

Sohl said Olsen "engaged Mr. Bishop in conversation" as Belleair officers Teddi Easterman and Randy Krause arrived. Sohl said Bishop pushed Easterman. Robinson fired a Taser at Bishop but missed, and he ran south on S Fort Harrison Avenue.

The officers began chasing Bishop, and at one point, Bishop pulled a weapon from his pocket and pointed it toward the officers, Sohl said.

Sohl said there was "an exchange of fire" in the driveway of the Fairwinds Treatment Center on S Fort Harrison Avenue, about a third of a mile south of where officers first encountered Bishop off the Pinellas Trail.

Olsen was the only officer to fire his gun.

Sohl said he didn't know how many times Bishop shot at the officers or how many times Olsen fired his weapon. He said Bishop was shot twice but did not know where he was injured.

Sohl also said he did not know what type of weapon Bishop carried, though police did recover the weapon. "There is a chance it was not a real firearm," Sohl said. "It could have been a pellet gun or BB gun."

Sohl said the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is handling the criminal investigation. Spokeswoman Cecilia Barreda said "the investigation is open and ongoing" when asked on Monday if Bishop would be charged with a crime.

Kevin Rinker, a salesman at PJ's Auto World, said he was in the parking lot of the auto shop on S Fort Harrison Avenue when he heard "seven to eight" gunshots in a row.

Rinker said he ducked and ran toward the shop's office, falling on the ground and skinning his knee as he feared the shooter was coming toward him. "I just ran and took off," he said. "We didn't know where the shots were going next."

On Nov. 10, Bishop was deemed incompetent to stand trial in Pinellas County on a trespassing charge. He was listed as homeless in court records.

His criminal history in Florida dates back to 2004, when he was arrested on a second-degree grand theft of a vehicle charge at age 17.

He was arrested nine times since then on charges from burglary and disorderly conduct to trespassing on school property and marijuana possession.

Bishop also was cited on a municipal ordinance violation three times in 2010 for "sleeping, lying or reclining" on public right of ways and twice that year for having an open alcohol container.

He was listed as homeless in 2010, as well.

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Staff researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Contact Tracey McManus at tmcmanus@tampabay.com or (727) 445-4151.