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Officer-Involved Shootings Article

June 10, 2008

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Fla. police kill man after domestic dispute

By Adam H. Beasley and Mooney Piedra
The Miami Herald

SEMINOLE, Fla. — Drunk, abusive and suicidal, Bernard Devine sent his wife Linda fleeing Monday morning with a split lip and a knot on her forehead, according to Seminole police.

He had much worse planned for himself and their Hollywood double-wide trailer, the wife told cops.

When police arrived at the home, Devine, 55, had a gasoline can in one hand and a cigarette lighter in the other -- and was threatening to blow the place up, officers said.

Fearing that the trailer was about to burst into flames, Sgt. Jarret Romanello opened fire on Devine, killing him instantly, said Gary Bitner, a tribal spokesman.

Devine was unable to ignite the home, located at 359 Big Cypress Dr. on the Seminole Reservation near Hollywood, before Romanello fatally shot him.

''It was a highly combustible situation,'' Bitner said. ``There was a larger threat than just to the officer approaching.''

Hollywood Fire Rescue's hazmat team was called to the mobile home park to evaluate whether there was a danger in the area.

The team spent an hour there, using monitoring equipment to search for any ignitable substances. But they found none, Battalion Chief Mark Steele said.

The shooting ended a tense situation that began less than an hour earlier, when Devine struck his wife in a drunken rage, Bitner said.

According to Bitner, here's how the morning unfolded:

About 8 a.m. Monday, a battered Linda Devine walked into the Seminole police station and told officers her husband was drunk and had threatened to commit suicide by torching their home.

Devine was alone in the residence when police arrived.

The officers surrounded the home, which reeked of fuel. They found a gas can outside the trailer.

As Romanello approached from the front, he saw Devine holding the cigarette lighter and another gas can.

Concerned for his own safety, for that of his fellow cops and for nearby trailers, Romanello squeezed the trigger of his patrol rifle -- an AR-15 -- and killed Devine.

Police did not specify the number of rounds, although Bitner said ''multiple'' shots were fired -- all by Romanello, 29.

Devine was inside his home when he was killed. Police did not make clear if Romanello was in the trailer or outside when he opened fire. The officer did cut his hand on a sliding glass door during the standoff.

The home is in the northeast corner of the sprawling Hollywood Estates mobile home park at U.S. 441 just south of Stirling Road. Although the park is on the reservation, many residents of the park are not members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.

A neighbor, Dorothy Silva, said Devine had a history of troubled behavior.

''One minute he'd be talking very nice to you and all of a sudden he'd get angry,'' she said. ``I don't think he was stable at all. Maybe he just snapped.''

Devine's lengthy criminal history dates back to 1981 and includes charges of trespassing, soliciting prostitution and cocaine possession, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

In 1988, he pleaded guilty to charges that he assaulted a Hallandale Beach police officer, state records show. The outcome of that case was unclear.

Two years later, the Broward Sheriff's Office arrested Devine on probation violation charges. He served four months at a prison for men in Lake Butler, Fla.

A year after being released, Devine was arrested again for soliciting a prostitute and cocaine possession. He was sentenced to two years probation.

He was subsequently arrested with cocaine twice and eventually had his driver's license suspended, records show.

The Seminole Police Department, along with BSO crime scene investigators and the Broward County Medical Examiner, are investigating the shooting. It could take several days.

Romanello will be placed on administrative leave, with pay, pending the outcome of the inquiry.

Copyright 2008 The Miami Herald

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