A Pinellas Park police officer was justified when he fatally shot a man last month, Pinellas-Pasco State’s Attorney Bruce Bartlett has determined.
Officer Cameron Williams fatally shot Jared Daniel Rudderham on May 30 after the 36-year-old pulled a gun on police during a domestic dispute, according to a letter Bartlett sent to Pinellas Park Police Chief, Michael Haworth.
Rudderham showed up at the house where his ex-girlfriend lived with her grandmother at 5000 94th Ave. N and refused to leave, according to the letter. Rudderham was upset that his ex-girlfriend had started dating someone new.
The ex-girlfriend called her mother, who called 911. Police contacted the ex-girlfriend, who told them Rudderham would not leave. She knew Rudderham had two guns, but he refused to tell her if he had any weapons on him.
Pinellas Park police responded. Two officers spoke with the ex-girlfriend at the front of the house while a corporal went to the side of the residence and looked over a fence in the backyard. The corporal told the other officers that Rudderham was in the backyard with a backpack nearby, but that he was not carrying a weapon.
After the corporal relayed this information, Williams began walking through the backyard to speak with Rudderham followed by the two officers who had contacted the ex-girlfriend.
With a gun drawn, Williams approached Rudderham, calling out the man’s name to get his attention. Rudderham pulled a Glock 19 9mm semi-automatic pistol from a holster on his waistband, the letter states. The corporal yelled that there was a gun and alerted the other officers over the radio.
Rudderham reached for the slide of his gun to load it and turned toward Williams, raising the gun at the officer, according to the letter. Williams fired five times, hitting Rudderham.
Police began life-saving measures and Rudderham was taken to Bayfront Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. According to the letter, officers found one live round in the chamber of Rudderham’s gun and 12 in the magazine. It also had a holster with a 9mm magazine that held 15 rounds.
The state’s attorney’s office ruled that the death was justified by Rudderham’s actions, Bartlett wrote in the letter.
“As a result of our investigation, I have determined that Officer Cameron Williams was in the lawful performance of his duties when Jared Rudderham, while committing armed trespass and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, took a 9mm Glock 19 semi-automatic handgun and pointed it. at Officer Williams, a uniformed police officer,” he said.
