Body and dash camera video released Friday by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office gives a glimpse into a deputy-involved shooting that ended with the death of a suspected burglar.
It happened on Nov. 4 at Davis Park near Nocotee. Dustin Rush, 42, was the suspect shot and killed by deputies.
Investigators said that Rush was the second suspect in a burglary investigation at a storage facility on Palm Valley Road.
The encounter started when the deputy approached Rush’s truck with her gun drawn as he was parked near an overpass.
“Give me your hands. Give me your [expletive] hands. Right now. Get the [expletive] out,” the deputy yelled.
The two continued to tussle with each other but Rush was able to break free.
The deputy then used her electric shock device on Rush before she bashed out the rear window of his truck. The shock doesn’t subdue Rush. The deputy then took cover behind the truck when suddenly, the vehicle took off.
During the chase, a dashcam recorded the deputy slamming into the back of the truck which caused the truck to spin out.
With the truck immobilized, the deputy then took off after Rush who ran off. The foot chase happened inside a parking lot at Davis Park.
Other deputies arrived as the pursuing deputy had her gun drawn as she searched for her suspect.
Three minutes and 31 seconds into the video, families can be seen at a youth sporting event as the officer searches for the suspect. Then there is a barrage of gunfire.
The bodycam then recorded deputies placing handcuffs on Rush after he was shot. Rush was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Investigators said Rush was in possession of this handgun when he was shot, but the video obtained by News4JAX does not show Rush holding the gun.
It’s also not clear if he fired at deputies.
“We had thousands and thousands of kids in the Davis Park area, kids at Ponte Vedra High School taking exams, practicing sports, when this incident was going on in broad daylight,” St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick said. “We had a reckless suspect with no caution at all for life, people in the parking lot walking around. Our deputy sheriffs took the actions they had to, to stop from having further injury and innocent people being killed.”
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