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TAMPA — A police officer who, along with a trainee, went to check out a call about an erratic person Thursday night shot and wounded the man when he charged her with a knife, authorities said.
Field Training Officer Usilia Emilione, 29, who has served in the Tampa department for three years, was riding with her trainee when they responded to a call at 6:46 p.m. from the parents of a 51-year-old man at 3703 E Shadowlawn Ave. in East Tampa.
That man, Lawrence Anderson, was behaving oddly, making threats and waving a knife, Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said. Emilione spotted him through a side door at the house. He was slashing a pillow and waving the knife. She and his parents told him several times to drop the knife, Davis said. Instead, Anderson charged toward her and she fired once, Davis said.
Anderson was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he was undergoing surgery Thursday night for what police described as nonlife-threatening injuries.
Emilione will placed on standard paid administrative leave as the investigation continues. It was the first time she had fired her weapon on duty since joining the department, Davis said. For the officer in training, the night's event may aid him in his career, Davis said.
"It definitely puts things into perspective," Davis said. "Now he knows what could happen in a similar situation in the future."
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