New details emerge in shooting that wounded Tallahassee police officer

The Tallahassee police officer who was shot by his own service weapon while fighting on the ground with a trespassing suspect at one point found the gun pointed directly at him.

That harrowing moment was among new details to emerge in court records in the shooting case. Willis Adams, 36, was arrested on a charge of attempted murder after police finally subdued him Friday outside a North Monroe Street motel.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Adams also threatened to kill an employee of the Loyalty Inn, where he had been staying. That was after he was asked to leave.

The Tallahassee Police Department was called to the motel around 12:35 p.m. Friday after Adams tried to fight with an employee and threatened to “take his life.” Officers made contact with him at the motel and stood by while he removed his personal belongings from the room.

The officers noticed opened and unopened cans of alcoholic beverages in his room and around his car and determined he was intoxicated and couldn’t drive away.

Adams, who was acting “aggressive and confrontational,” agreed to lock his belongings in his car and leave the property on foot after officers told him he was being given trespassed from the site.

One of the officers parked his patrol car at the entrance of the property to type up the trespass warning and make sure Adams didn’t come back. A short time later, he radioed a sergeant who had left the scene to say he was going to have to arrest Adams after all.

The sergeant replied that he was on his way back to the motel. The officer who had stayed behind “keyed up on the radio” but there was no transmission.

“CDA Dispatch asked if (the officer) was OK and there was no response,” the arrest report says. “(The sergeant) upgraded and responded with lights and siren. (The officer) eventually keyed up on the radio and stated he had been shot.”

The officer, whose name has not been released, was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare and listed in stable condition. He has since been discharged and is expected to recover.

He was the second officer in less than a year to be shot and injured in the line of duty — something Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell pointed out during a news conference held hours after the incident.

“Our officers displayed unbelievable courage tonight,” Revell said, “and thank God they're all coming home.”

Officer's handgun was 'pointed directly' at him as he wrestled with suspect

Footage from the injured officer’s body camera showed that he made contact with Adams again as the suspect was talking on his cell phone. Adams yelled at the officer to “get yo ass out my face bro!” and “hit me with that Taser!”

The officer grabbed Adams and tried to take him into custody but he retreated to a grassy area. The officer gave verbal commands, which Adams ignored, before discharging his Taser twice, “which had no effect” on him.

He struck him in the legs twice with his baton, but that had no effect on Adams either. The two fell to the ground and began wrestling for the officer’s Glock, which was out of the holster.

“At one point during the struggle, the handgun was observed to be pointed directly at (the officer). Adams continued to scream, 'Quit!' and 'He's trying to shoot me!'" the report says.

The officer had his right hand on the back of the gun and his left hand on the muzzle as Adams wrapped both hands around the middle of the gun.

"The handgun discharged striking (the officer) in the left hand.” the report says.

The officer clung to Adams before falling back to the ground. Meanwhile, a civilian who saw the fight and stopped to help yelled at Adams to drop the gun. Adams walked off and tossed the gun in a storm drain, where it was later recovered. The officer radioed that he’d been shot and gave a description of the suspect who had his gun.

Soon after, Adams was taken into custody with the help of deputies from the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Department and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.

As he was being transported to TPD headquarters for questioning, he made “spontaneous” statements about what had happened, including that he took the officer’s gun and threw it in a ditch. His interview at headquarters ended after he continued to talk about “individuals” who weren’t in the room.

Adams, whose long criminal history includes battery, burglary and drug arrests, is being held without bond in the Leon County Detention Facility. He was assigned a public defender on Saturday during his first court appearance. On Monday, he pleaded not guilty.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: New details emerge in shooting that wounded Tallahassee police officer