Details finally released: Clay County deputies' use of deadly force deemed justified

It’s been nearly 19 months since the Clay County Sheriff’s Office reported that deputies shot and killed an individual during a high-speed pursuit and crash.

That was about it — no gender, age range or reasons why, despite repeated attempts by media under public record laws to get the incident report and any more details about what happened April 27, 2022.

Now the Times-Union has possibly learned a reason why: Daniel Ryan Palato did not have a gun that deputies believed he brandished. The revelation is revealed in the reports that the State Attorney’s Office released late last week ruling the shooting justifiable.

“The events that unfolded on the evening of April 27, 2022, have forever shattered the lives of the Palato family,” said attorney Brett Hastings, hired by the 39-year-old’s father, Fred Palato. “The tragedy of losing a loved one to a violent shooting was only made worse knowing Danny was unarmed and posed no apparent threat to himself or the deputies. 

“The report from the State Attorney’s Office leaves more questions than answers,” his statement continued. “The findings outlined in the SAO report seem to contradict the reports from the Orange Park Police Department and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. We are continuing to conduct our own in-depth and thorough review of the facts and are still awaiting public records that we should have been provided long ago.”

Here’s what the State Attorney’s Office review found based on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation, with additional information supplemented by the Times-Union’s research and obtaining additional documents.

What happened to Daniel Palato the night of April 27, 2022

It started with a 911 domestic call about a suicide threat shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Slash Pine Court in Orange Park from what the State Attorney’s Office report only specified as a frightened family member. The Times-Union learned that this was actually Palato’s father who wasn’t there but had been called to help by his daughter-in-law.

Alexis Palato told arriving officers her husband went into a rage for no apparent reason after waking up from a nap and retrieved a duffel bag from a closet. He pulled out an AR-15 rifle and 9mm pistol and loaded them. He fired one round into the floor and left with the rifle in their gold Chrysler PT Cruiser, according to the documents. A supplemental report states the first officer to speak with the wife at the home located the 9mm while there.

Their teen daughter also was home and heard the shot and saw him yelling and throwing things around the room. She said her mother was crying and trying to calm him down, but it wasn’t working and he drove off, one of the reports said.

Alexis Palato’s written statement said he had been fine before all this happened but that he did have a pending criminal case in Duval County that she didn’t agree with or understand. She said he hadn't been the same since but that this was the first time he'd done anything like this.

Court records show he had a pretrial hearing coming up for a charge of unlicensed carrying a concealed firearm. The arrest report said police were called to a Target store at Oakleaf Town Center for an unresponsive man sitting in the shoe aisle. The caller said he tried several times to rouse him before notifying police. When the officer tried to nudge him, he noticed a handgun in Palato's jacket resulting in his arrest.

The State Attorney’s Office review also noted his wife’s written statement included that he said “the police won’t get him alive.”

The review references “suicide by cop” twice and that the deputies involved also stated dispatch had advised about suicidal statements.

The Times-Union obtained the roughly two-minute 911 call in which Fred Palato begins by saying he thinks they ought to go to his son’s home because “I believe he discharged a gun.” He said he wasn’t there but had talked with his crying wife and daughter. When the dispatcher asks if he said anything about hurting himself, his father says, “He’s always been negative that way. I don’t know for sure. I don’t want to say too much.” He does not sound urgent or panicked in any way and never says anything about his son leaving with guns.

While an officer was at the scene, Palato returned and was spotted parked nearby. The officer unholstered his firearm and began communication with Palato and commanded him to show his hands. He wasn’t complying but got in and out of the car more than once and was fumbling around inside as well as at the opened hatchback as if he was looking for something, according to the supplemental report. He also stated, “This isn’t going to end the way you think it is.”

"It's not like I don't have an AR in here,” he said. The officer said he told him he knew he had the rifle and that’s why he needed to show his hands. He never displayed the gun before fleeing in the car, according to the reports.

It led to the Sheriff’s Office being called to assist and a high-speed pursuit of the PT Cruiser by several deputies. Palato turned onto Constitution Drive and abruptly stopped his car. A deputy pulled up parallel to the driver’s side, got out and saw he was wearing a tactical vest. Palato pointed what the officer perceived to be a gun at him before fleeing again, and the other deputies were alerted over the radio, according to the documents.

He continued to drive erratically, going the wrong way down the street and hit two cars. At Blanding Boulevard and Filmore Street one of the deputies rammed the car forcing it to crash.

“When officers approached his car, he refused to put his hands up. Instead, he leaned over into the passenger seat as if he was trying to pick something up,” according to the State Attorney’s Office investigation. The deputy said Palato then “popped up making a motion as if he was taking aim at me with a potential firearm.”

Multiple shots were fired and the suspect killed. It was the first officer-involved shootings for all three deputies who shot him, according to the documents. Their names are not being released per the state’s Marsy’s Law for victim privacy. Witnesses at the nearby Wawa gas station said they heard the deputy at the front of the car yell, “Let me see your hands” and “put your hands up” and then heard gunshots.

Neither the 9mm or the AR-15 was recovered from the vehicle or nearby, although a knife and two .223 rifle magazines were found inside, according to the investigation. The initial Orange Park incident report says a search warrant of the family’s home revealed both the AR-15 rifle and 9mm pistol.

The guns were in the Palato home all along. The rifle was discovered under a shirt on the floor near a closet in the master bedroom where other clothing had been scattered, according to the supplemental report.

No guns, no difference

So the officer who stated he pointed a gun had to either be false or mistaken. It is irrelevant, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

“Based on his [Palato’s] behavior, it was reasonable for officers to believe he had a gun,” the final report from the State Attorney’s Office states. “The fact that neither the AR-15 nor the 9mm were recovered does not change our analysis.”

A toxicology report from the autopsy also showed Palato had Xanax, methadone, gabapentin and cannabinoids in his system.

The Orange Park Police Department and Clay County Sheriff’s Office are not equipped with body-worn cameras, so some of the details cannot be corroborated but all of the individuals interviewed had consistent accounts, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

The officers’ use of deadly force was reasonable and justified, according to the final investigation. Florida statutes permit the use of deadly force when a person “reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony.”

“Our role is to evaluate, review and pursue criminal charges when the use of deadly force is not justified. We have conducted a thorough review of the evidence in this matter. Based on this, and our review of applicable Florida law, the officers’ use of deadly force was justified. We will take no further action in this matter,” the State Attorney’s Office concluded.

Clay County Sheriff's Office stands by its response

The Clay County Sheriff’s Office provided the following statement about the investigation, State Attorney’s Office ruling and the department’s transparency:

“We believe these independent, outside investigations provide our community with the most transparent and trustworthy process for examining any fatal use of force encounter involving CCSO personnel. Maintaining transparency and public trust will always be guiding principles for the CCSO. We are also thankful for the men and women of the CCSO who put on the uniform every day. They put themselves in harm’s way and sometimes must make critical split-second decisions to keep themselves and the citizens of Clay County safe under very difficult circumstances. The shooting of Mr. Palato and any loss of life is tragic, but law enforcement officers have an obligation to protect themselves and members of our community.”

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The family attorney still questions the excessive use of deadly force and some of the procedures that were followed.

“In the interim we know this, Danny was not armed with any firearms when three Clay County deputy sheriffs fired 15 rounds into his immobilized vehicle from three different angles,” Hastings said. “Danny was completely surrounded by a half-dozen heavily armed deputy sheriffs.”

The Times-Union interviewed Alexis Palato at her home Sunday about her concerns as well, but she has since asked that her comments not be used in the story. They had been married 19 years.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Man shot by Clay County deputies did not have a gun; still justified