A Charlotte County family is living their worst nightmare after a deputy shot and killed their loved one. In an exclusive with WINK News, the family shared their grief and frustration over the incident, which occurred on September 23.
Jeffrey Burch, the brother of the victim, Daniel Burch, expressed his heartbreak.
"He should not be dead right now, and we all know that," said Burch. "Everyone who's seen the video knows that, and it just makes no sense. And that's all I can describe this. I'm just like, broken."
The incident began behind a yellow tape when Daniel Burch was shot multiple times by Deputy Timothy Poole. He later died from his injuries.
Charlotte County Sheriff Prummell addressed the ongoing investigation.
"I can't stand before you and state in confidence that, like with the other cases, that we did, everything we should have done, this is still a very active investigation," said Prummell. "There's still some unanswered questions."
WINK News reporter Haley Zarcone spoke with Ed Obayashi, a use-of-force expert and former law enforcement officer, who analyzed the bodycam video.
"The individual is clearly aggressive. He's belligerent, etc, but he's not constituting, apparently, an immediate grave danger to the officer, because he is not advancing on the officer," said Obayashi. "And what's important is that he is unarmed."
Obayashi continued to analyze the footage.
"It's got to be a grave threat, based on the amount of force used the initial contact the Taser itself," said Obayashi. "There's no indication, at least from this angle, that the individual was advancing on the officer. There's no indication of that. Yes, he did try to swipe or swat the Taser away from the officer, but that was after the taser was deployed."
Jeffrey Burch recounted the events leading up to the shooting.
"He got tased twice, and my brother was backing up because he came over to find out what was going on," said Burch. "My brother was he backed up all the way to his vestibule of his of his condo unit, Officer Timothy Poole, after he tased him twice, kept following, following him, instigating."
Obayashi critiqued the officer's handling of the weapon.
"Officers have been disciplined for pointing their gun in what we call a gangsta style pose," said Obayashi. "It is no department I know of sanctions that type of grip for safety reasons, accuracy reasons, etc."
Jeffrey Burch described the moment his brother was shot.
"My brother pushed the gun out of his face. Timothy pulled back up," said Burch. "My brother got his phone out, and as soon as he raised it to videotape how this man was acting. That's when Officer Timothy Poole decided to shoot my brother three times."
Emily Burch, Daniel's daughter, shared her family's determination for justice.
"I just that we want justice for him, my dad, I'm not going to get him back," said Emily Burch. "And I hope they realize how much this is just hurt every one of us and like it's hard to talk about."
Obayashi emphasized the importance of the investigation.
"When I investigate these cases, I never go in and say, All right, this is not unless it's so obvious," said Obayashi. "But the public has to understand it's never so obvious."
The Burch family remains steadfast in their pursuit of justice as the investigation continues.