Dundee Man Killed In Scuffle With Police

DUNDEE | A 31-year-old Dundee man who was accused of a theft at a shopping center was shot and killed Thursday night after a scuffle with a Dundee police officer, according to the Sheriff's Office.

At 11:30 p.m. Officer Nicholas "Nick" Burns and his supervisor, Corp. Ralph Marshall, responded to a reported theft at Winn Dixie, 28047 U.S. 27, at Dundee Road. When they arrived, they encountered Tyrone Hawkins, of 218 Shepard Ave., in the parking lot, according to a Polk County Sheriff's Office report.

Hawkins got into an altercation with Burns, causing Burns to discharge his handgun, killing Hawkins, the report stated.

Hawkins died of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Polk County Medical Examiner's Office.

The Medical Examiner's Officer and the Polk County Sheriff's Office would not say how many times Hawkins was shot. Because the police department is a small agency, the Sheriff's Office is investigating the death.

Sheriff's Office officials did not release any further details on the incident, including whether Hawkins was armed with a weapon, because the case is under investigation. Investigators also declined to explain Marshall's role in the scuffle.

Law enforcement officials did not disclose what it was Hawkins was accused of stealing from Winn-Dixie. The State Attorney's Office will determine whether the shooting was justified.

Burns and Marshall have been placed on routine paid administrative leave. Burns was slightly bruised when he fell from a truck during his struggle with Hawkins, Dundee Police Lt. Rick Bowman said.

Bowman, who has worked for the police department for 10 years, said this is the department's first officer involved shooting in recent memory.

Burns, 22, was hired in October 2006 and is paid $30,638 annually. He received a commendation for assisting residents at Dell Lake Village in the aftermath of a tornado. There were no reprimands in his file.

Before his employment in Dundee, he worked for the Haines City Police Department from September 2005 to September 2006. His personnel file from Haines City had one disciplinary action after Burns got into an argument with a neighbor in Auburndale, said Haines City Police Chief Morris West. He used profanity and was acting unprofessionally, West said.

Polk County Jail records show Hawkins has had an arrest history since 1996. He was charged with burglary and driving with a suspended license in 1996 and served 15 months in state prison, according to the State Attorney's Office. He was charged with driving with a suspended license again in 2000, and after violating his probation he served another 15 months in prison.

In 2003, Hawkins was charged with forgery and grand theft. He was sentenced to two years' probation. In 2006, Hawkins served 60 days in jail for petty theft.

Hawkins had lived in his neighborhood, which is a block away from the Dundee Police Department, for a month, said Juan Gonzalez, who lives on Hawkins' block. He lived there with another man and the two kept to themselves, occasionally getting into arguments, Gonzalez said.

No one answered the door at Hawkins' home Friday afternoon.

[ Merissa Green can be reached at merissa.green@theledger.com or 863-401-6968. ]