JSO Officer involved in Lavilla shooting was cleared in prior fatal shooting

Jacksonville, FL — The Jacksonville Officer involved in a fatal shooting in Lavilla overnight has been behind a fatal shooting before, but he was cleared in that case.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says 10-year veteran Officer Tyler Landreville was the first to get to the scene on West State Street Wednesday night, where an armed aggravated assault had been reported. Chief of Investigations TK Waters says witnesses pointed Landreville to the suspect, who was holding a knife to the neck of a man in a wheelchair. Waters says Landreville told that suspect-who's now been identified as 33-year-old Frankie Feliciano- to drop the weapon.

“When he [Feliciano] refused to do so, he [Landreville] was forced to make the quick and decisive decision to use deadly force,” Waters says.

Waters says there was only about 35 seconds that elapsed between when Landreville got to the scene and when he fired three shots, which all hit Feliciano. Landreville was not hurt, and the victim in the wheelchair suffered a minor injury.

Waters says, from what he can see in the preliminary investigation, Landreville did everything he was supposed to do.

“Officers come to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and they work for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office willing every single day to go out and to do the job that is necessary to protect the lives of the citizens of our community,” he says.

Landreville did have a body worn camera on at the time of his response, according to Waters.

Asked whether Feliciano moved toward or somehow threatened Landreville with the knife, Waters says there was imminent danger.

“His movements indicated that, had Officer Landreville not taken that action, it could have been catastrophic,” he says.

Landreville has previously been involved in a fatal shooting- the 2016 death of 22-year-old Vernell Bing Jr. Police say Bing was in a car they believed to be connected to a shooting, and a high-speed chase ensued when Landreville tried to pull him over. Both vehicles eventually collided in Springfield, and JSO says Bing got out of the car and wasn't listening to Landreville, who then opened fire. Bing- who was not armed- was hit, and later died.

The incident sparked several protests and calls for change in how JSO handles police-involved shootings. Ultimately, Landreville was cleared in 2017, when the State Attorney's Office ruled the shooting as justified.

Feliciano has eight prior arrests, including six in Jacksonville, according to JSO. Most recently, he was arrested in February for aggravated battery with a wrench. During the initial press conference about this incident, JSO said both Feliciano and the man in the wheelchair are transients, but it’s not clear how they know each other or what the source of the initial dispute was.

GRAPHIC: JSO has released a photo of the knife that the suspect held. This photo appears to contain blood.