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St. Petersburg officer who fatally shot man was justified, internal review finds

The agency said K-9 Officer Stephen York shot Cody Kiley on Sept. 12 after Kiley refused to comply with police commands to drop a gun.
 
An internal review by the St. Petersburg Police Department concluded that an officer who shot a man in September while responding to a domestic dispute was justified.
An internal review by the St. Petersburg Police Department concluded that an officer who shot a man in September while responding to a domestic dispute was justified. [ Times ]
Published Dec. 7, 2022|Updated Dec. 7, 2022

An internal review by the St. Petersburg Police Department concluded that an officer who shot a man in September while responding to a domestic dispute was justified.

The agency said K-9 Officer Stephen York shot Cody Kiley on Sept. 12 after Kiley refused to comply with police commands to drop a gun. An investigation from the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office released last month found that the shooting was legally justified.

York was one of the St. Petersburg police officers who responded to a Disston Heights home after receiving a call from Jill Kiley, who said her son, Cody Kiley, had threatened her with a gun. Jill Kiley locked herself and her granddaughter in a bathroom before calling 911.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found Cody Kiley in the yard on the west side of the house, holding a gun, according to police and prosecutor accounts. He did not respond to multiple orders to drop his weapon and York released a police canine, Loki.

The dog attacked Cody Kiley’s ankle and jumped on his chest, but Kiley did not drop the gun, according to the state attorney’s review of the incident. At that point, Kiley turned toward York, still holding the gun. York then fatally shot Kiley.

Jill Kiley previously referred a Tampa Bay Times reporter to an attorney on her behalf. The attorney could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday regarding the department’s internal review.

Times staff writer Michaela Mulligan contributed to this report.