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Ding Dong Ditching turns deadly~Tyler Spann
Ding dong ditching is something that the kids all seem to be into these days….you ring a doorbell at night and then run. Annoying, yes. A crime…I don’t think so. It’s something most all kids have done at some point…my own have, and if I could remember that far back, I’d probably have to say I’ve done it myself.
Early Friday morning, Tyler Spann is alleged to have rung the doorbell of a Sarasota County cop,Deputy Carlos Verdoni, perhaps more than once (that part seems to be pretty much up in the air at this point). Now, if this happened at my house, I’d imagine I’d be annoyed, and then go back to sleep. Maybe call the cops if it’d happened multiple times. In this case, the officer apparently decided to deal with it by jumping in his patrol car, along with his gun, to hunt down the ding dong ditchers. From there the story gets murky…the cop says the kid (ok, he was 20, so technically, he was a man) wrestled with him and tried to go for his gun. At that point, the officer, saying he feared for his life, shot Tyler twice, killing him.
I’ve been reading on the forums, and most people seem to be on the side of the officer. After all, he felt threatened, and he shot. I understand all of that. My problem with this is, why did he feel the need to leave his house and chase the kid down? Why did he not simply call the police? Being a cop himself, I’m pretty sure he would have gotten a speedy response. Would the outcome have been the same, just with another officer being the one shooting Tyler? Maybe. Maybe not. We’ll never know, will we?
I don’t know, something just feels hinky with this story. I’ll be interested to see how the investigation plays out. In the meantime, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of Tyler Spann. And I’ll be reminding my kids NOT to ding dong ditch. You never know when you’re going to ring the wrong doorbell.
The Herald Tribune story can be found here.
Thank you for writing your insight, it really is nice to see someone else feels that this situation is a little up in the air, and that the cop wasn’t exactly in the right.
I know the Spann family and this whole town is going through something horrible, and just hoping this isn’t swept under the rug.
Tammy, I can’t even believe what a nightmare this whole situation is. Tyler’s roomate is my nieces boyfriend and they were both there at the house whenand where he was shot. There are so many inconsistencies in this cop’s story. If he truly told him to lay on the ground and then while he was laying on the ground went to call for back-up, then why didn’t he hand cuff him before he turned his back to make the call? Also, if they truly have an eyewitness, I would think they would be splashing that all over the place to defend their deputy. There aren’t many houses on that street, in fact, I think there are only 2, I could be wrong, but both neighbors have said they heard nothing but the gunshots, and then my niece and her boyfriend screaming when they opened the door and saw Tyler laying on the ground. These were such good kids, (o.k. young men) that the worst thing they could think of was to ring someone’s doorbell and run. What kind of a person, cop or not, chases someone with a gun for such a minor incident? It wasn’t as if they were trying to break in, they were running away. A whole lot of kids grew up way too fast yesterday.
Donna, thank you so much for your comment. It’s so nice to have my feelings validated by someone I know, who actually know the people involved (which, obviously, I do not). Like I said, something just feels….wrong….about this story. I really hope that the sheriff’s department doesn’t just sweep this under the rug and that the truth comes out.
I totally agree. Something is not right w/ this story. I’ve had kids do this to me not long ago, but they also papered my ENTIRE landscape before they rang the bell. I didn’t even consider calling L.E. , let alone chase them down w/ a loaded GUN! ( not that i have one) My heart goes out to this family and Tyler’s friends. What is happening to our little town? Why are ppl so aggressive. I feel they still ARE kids at that age. I did stupid things when i was their age. The posters that side w/ this trigger happy cop forget what it’s like to be young and they are also overly paranoid.
To Donna, according to the officer, he didn’t have handcuffs on him, as he left his house in only gym shorts, a tee and flip flops. He had his gun tucked into his shorts and such. My question is, why didn’t this officer call for back-up while he drove the maybe two blocks and followed Tyler and Chris? Again, why didn’t he just follow them and sit outside and wait for the PROPER officers to come. In that case Chris and Tyler would have been arrested for underage drinking, and maybe disturbing the peace, but it definitely would have not been ending in a situation where Tyler was killed, and the whole town is horrified.
I do not believe that their is an eyewitness to prove the cops story. ALL the neighbors on that street said not once did they hear shouting commands or a struggle. In one of the news articles, I am guessing Chris said he was hiding on someone’s porch, and was blocked by bushes to see, but not once did he hear any verbal commands. I know my mother said she didn’t hear anything but *bang bang* and then a few minutes later sirens and lights everywhere.
I know today from 3pm til 6pm they are getting together at North Jetty. This is the actual information from the person who started the group/event on Facebook.
* Everyone meet at the north jetty at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday April 18th..Bring posters and signs for tyler’s death and we will all meet there and make our signs and go to a main road and all stand there and show the town how much TYLER SPANN means to us and what happened is not right!!!!! Afterwards bring cards and flowers for us to bring to the SPANN family*
Monday the are having an open viewing at Ewing Funeral home starting at 3 pm and then the funeral service is Tuesday at noon at The Grace United Methodist Church on Venice Island.
From knowing this family so well, I can tell you they are such an amazing loving family and none of their kids would ever hurt a fly. I will keep this family in my hearts and prayers and this is such a tragedy.
Lia, can you share the link to the FaceBook page? And if anyone who makes it to North Jetty would like to share their pictures, I would be happy to post them.
I also heard that he left his house without handcuffs since he wasn’t in his uniform, but, according to the Sheriff, they are “always on duty”, that is why they can bring their patrol cars home. He didn’t have any in his car? He didn’t forget to bring his loaded gun though. We will probably never know what really happened that night, but I have no doubt that he left his house totally enraged with his loaded gun, and the intent to “teach someone a lesson”. Seriously, if he was a civilian that chased down somebody with a loaded gun and shot them, this would be a closed case already. I just thank God that when my niece and Chris ran out the front door screaming that he didn’t shoot them too.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=118047601544465
Tammy, here’s the link. I am pretty sure the kids already got together at North Jetty, I know they did this on Friday night, but they might be doing it again tonight, I will let you know what I hear.
OOPS, that’s not the right link, and when I tried to delete it, I couldn’t. Please delete it.
Anyway, it is a Facebook group, RIP Tyler Spann
Donna, is it ok to leave the link up? There may be others who want to join it (I did).
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=118047601544465&ref=ts
This is just the link to honor Tyler.
Here is the link to the information about today’s activities at North Jetty.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=109707275735448&ref=ts
I know Friday night they all got together at North Jetty, and they are doing it again today.
Yes, if it is the right one, I thought I put the wrong link up.
Thanks Lia, I hadn’t talked to the kids yet today.
Donna, it wasn’t the link we were talking about, but it wasn’t the wrong link, if you know what I mean. Thanks for sharing it.
Lia, thanks for the link to the event. I wish my car wasn’t being stupid lately, I’d really like to go. Someone on there said that SNN6 was going to be there, so at least I should be able to follow the news coverage, if nothing else.
And by the way, both of you feel free to add me on FB…you can find me by my email, amomandherblog@gmail.com Donna, I thought I already had you on there, but I can’t find it. Maybe it was MySpace?
To be honest, I haven’t heard any more news on this. I know the Spann family has gotten an lawyer, and a eye witness has step forward saying they seen everything from their bedroom window.
imo, if it’s the eye witness I am thinking of, I am not sure how the did, because I know how that house is set up. Truly, this is a shame and there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
Why wasn’t the dashboard camera on?
Why didn’t he call for back-up right away?
Why didn’t he have his handcuffs on him?
I am hoping again this isn’t a situation where things are swept under the rug, and that’s it, but with the way it has died out and it’s beginning to seem like hush hush, I fear it might be.
Today from 3-6 is the memorial at Ewing in Venice, and tomorrow at noon is the funeral at Grace United on the Island … both are open to everyone.
Bottomline, Officer put himself in this position. He was hunting a prankster. Shame on him. He broke the protocol by getting involved in a neighborhood dispute. Sad Tradegy, had he not had his gun, two lives would of been saved….Give the dam cops some tasers to control the Venice youth….we do not live in friggin Detroit.
I’m with the author, this story just doesn’t feel right…the kid is “going for his gun”!?!??
I’d just as soon see the cruiser video, but I have a feeling that video doesn’t exist.
And if a witness is in another house, I have to wonder how they could back up the whole story, especially about the kid “going for the gun”.
Seems more likely the deputy panicked and just shot the kid.
The shooting happened on a very small street, and 2 out of 3 of the neighbors said they were awake, and had their windows open, and just heard bang bang. Only one is saying they heard all this shouting and watch from their window everything … somehow I don’t believe it. I know this street, and I know which houses have TRUE visibility and somehow it doesn’t add up.
The dash board camera wasn’t going. He didn’t have handcuffs on him. Even the Venice Police say they didn’t get ANY calls to come to any street around the scene til AFTER the shooting. If the officer really did hit his head, why wasn’t it looked at by a medic, not another cop?
This is a sad sad situation and the Spann’s family and friends life were ruined, and this cop will probably get away with it, and yes he might feel he did something wrong, but besides that, nothing will be done, and that’s just a shame.
Do they even really have a witness? No one has interviewed them. I think I’ve read just about everything that’s been reported on this case. I read somewhere that their “witness” was another police officer. Somehow, that doesn’t sound unbiased to me.
The whole thing simply doesn’t add up to me. If they truly had an unbiased witness, I think they’d have trotted them out by now. I’ll be very interested to see how the investigation comes out. And I really, really hope that someone outside of the SCSO is doing the investigated. As we learned during the Denise Amber Lee case, having your own department doing the investigation leads to an awful lot of questions.
This makes me feel ill! My children went to school with Tyler and my wife knows his family well. I can’t imagine the pain his family is feeling! I know that my kids are sickened by it, and deeply affected! I don’t see how this shooting can be justified in any way. We are known as the “land of the free.” It’s total crap!!
We empower law enforcement with too much authority! America has more incarcerated people per capita than any other nation. When my children leave my home, I don’t worry about the things they get up to, or the friends they hang around with. Like the Spanns, I have taught my children right from wrong. I do however worry about the police and thier interaction with my young adult children. Guilty till proven innocent seems to be the way of today’s police. I am glad I grew up in a time when we were allowed to be young and the cops did not have an arrest quota and were there to “protect and serve”. I want to raise my children to respect authority. How can I when stories like this are in the paper everyday. My heart goes out to the Spanns and somehow hope that they find closure and justice will be served! GOD BLESS!!!
Sherriff Tom Knight whose dept. is investigating said 3 days after shooting and days before investigation was completed that he thought Verdoni’s action were justified, so the thin blue line rallies again to defend their fellow thug. Why do police ALWAYS have to escalate events till they end in tragedy. This thug (and that is all they are) should not have taken a gun with him when he clearly could not control his temper. This will be another cover up by the rest of his cronies like every other police force across America. Protect and Serve – what a laugh.
the problem with everybody on here is that no one no’s what really happend. you all asume the cop is at fault even though your not saying it. you all talk about how it will get swept under the rug, but you would be praising a cop if he stopped someone from killing you or if they caught someone breaking in your house. what I’m saying is don’t be so fast to asume because none of you were there. And if the cop did kill him for no reason he should go to jail for murder, but until the facts come out don’t be so quick to unfairly judge the person you might praise if you were in a bad situation.
Hey Crack…You’re on crack. There is no reason for an undercover cop to be chasing someone with a gun who ding dong ditched them. The facts will speak for themself. This was an All American kid who did not deserve this fate! Have some sympathy for the family who lost a young life with his whole future ahead of him. Don’t make it any harder! There was no justification in this cop’s action! The Spann family has reacted with class and dignity. They have asked for nobody to bash the police. The only people who have lashed out towards the police are the community that knows this young man. Learn how to spell too!
Hey Crack, there is one thing I will assume, I am going to assume that if this moron had not taken a gun to act the tough guy then the kid would still be alive. Fair assumption???
Dear Crack,
Please quit assuming that we (the people commenting on this blog) are bashing the cop. I don’t believe once any of us said anything mean about this cop, or cops in general. I simply thing we stated our PERSONAL opinions on the situation, which yes, might not be in the favor of the cop, but oh well.
Your right, we weren’t there, and I can almost guarantee that you weren’t either, so how do you know the cop was in the right? We don’t know what happened, but we do know that the facts do not add up. ALL cops carry handcuffs, pepper stray, and most a baton with them. So this officer (yes off-duty) grabbed his gun and badge and that’s it? He got upset that someone rang his doorbell at midnight (which wasn’t Tyler and Chris) and then at 1am, these two pranked him. He did something that if a normal person did, they would already be in jail. So why is he able to get away with it?
I really fear that we will never know what really happened that night. I wonder if the deputy had been drinking that night himself, as he was off duty. It really seems that he just went hunting. If he was so concerned for the safety of his family, why did he leave? As a LEO, he should have been sharp enough to realize that if this was going to a home invasion, which it wasn’t, that the ringing of the doorbell could have been a distraction to allow someone else to enter at a different location. It appears that his anger took over his rational thinking and had a horrible and tragic end result.
While it’s true we may NEVER really know what fully happened that night, we must understand that it’s in human nature to justify actions. Whether people sit here and justify the actions of the officer or the actions of Ty, they’ll still be just that. Only justifications. No matter the outcome, it’s all sad and tragic and a disgusting end to a life of a very young man who had tons of potential.
I’m a friend of Tyler’s sister. We went to school together, so Tyler is no stranger to me or many others that were Spann family friends. You might as well know right now that I’m going to sit here and justify Tyler’s actions. Personally, while I may have friends and family on the force, what this officer did was just immature. Why in the world would you bother to go get your gun and run after a couple kids at 1 am? Did it really bother him so much that he just HAD to make sure he was protected in order to chase down the boys who rang his doorbell? Last time I checked, such things as ding dong ditch aren’t crimes. They can be really REALLY annoying, but they aren’t criminal activities. This officer needs serious punishment.
To say he feared for his life, to me, is the most ridiculous statement I’ve heard in a long time. You, a grown man, an officer with a gun, fears for your life from a 20 year old boy who was carrying nothing, and did nothing but ring your door bell and run… That’s just insane. Oh, and to say he charged up at you with enough force to knock you over AND attempt to get your gun? Absurd. He couldn’t hurt a fly. I get to say this because I KNOW him. The department is going to get serious flack for this. One of their officers took the life of a boy. Took away a brother, and a son. A friend and cousin. I’m not going to bash the cop, but I have NOTHING good to say about, to, or for him.
The pain the Spann family is going through right now is completely horrible. It’s not necessary. They’ll feel this for the rest of their lives. A void, a loss, a hole where there was once no gaps.
An officer is sworn to protect the citizens, not shoot and kill them… I may be writing out of pain, but I think I’m also writing what others probably won’t. I have no fear. Just complete digust. Every single time something like this happens, it’s swept under the rug. The copper gets a wrist slap and is back on the streets in no time. For once, I’d like to see the department take a badge. Seems to me that the cop has some anger/bullying issues he never worked out as a kid. Macho Man Complex is not appealing, and it leads to dead friends and family members.
God bless the Spann family. Tyler, you’ll always be in the hearts of your family and friends. We loved you. Rest In Peace. We’ll all see you again soon. Watch over us. Watch over your sister. We’ll do what we can from down here.
Nik, I couldn’t have said it better myself.
The Spann family and this whole small community are at a loss right now. This is Venice, not the gang streets of Detroit. You feared for your life with all these break-ins, really, which ones, because I seen NONE in the paper. You feared for your life, so you left your wife, and 4 month old at home? Really? How do we know you had not been drinking that night? So many unanswered and probably never will be answered questions.
After just talking with my mother, who said that the cops were taking photos from the eye witnesses house (in the daylight), it made me want to puke. How can you prove you seen anything when it was 1am not 1pm? This whole investigation is already shady, as it was done by the officers that work with him. The lead investigator is one of Verdoni’s good friends. Seriously now?
I’m just sick of it. I mean, the cops get away with this junk, like it’s just another day where nothing happened. So wrong. And really? The only way to prove anything is to get persmission from the home owners to enter their houses and take pictures from their house windows of the street and AT 1 am. Not during the day.
We all know this is going to go no where. Even my uncle, who is a Charlotte County cop is disgusted by this and thinks that the officer should get a steep punishment. My uncle had this to say, “No GOOD cop, leaves his wife and newborn to chase down a couple of teens who were NOT breaking the law WITH his firearm. Cops like that are a disgrace to the badge and won’t get any respect from me!” That from a cop with 22 years on the force. Yay for when cops don’t always stick together like some frat house.
And a gun? Officers also carry tasers, do they not? Why would he immediately go for DEADLY force when he could have used something far less harmful?
This dude has serious anger problems and needs help. Therepy and to be stripped of his rights to serve and protect. Our system is insanely flawed. And who gets to clean up after this cop? The Spann family. My uncle is right. This cop’s a disgrace. He’s done nothing but hurt people.
The SD story is full of inconsistencies. All will come out in due time I’m sure, but take this as some food for thought… The shooting did not take place in front of the deputy’s home, It took place in front of Tyler’s home. The deputy was defending nothing other than his ego.
Diesel, you are absolutely correct, and at the point he drew his gun he had to have known that neither he nor his family was in danger. He was out “hunting” for the “pranksters”. The fact that he was casually leaning against the patrol car after the shooting sickens me, but what truly amazes me is that when my sister arrived there after her daughter called her screaming hysterically, they refused to allow her access to my niece and told her that no one had been injured. Really? No one injured?
UGHHH each time I heard something new in the paper (not on here), I get more upset for the Spann family and this town.
The Spann kids, just like myself, and many others in this town were raised right. We don’t really get into fights, we don’t verbally attack people (even if they are an asshole cop), we are polite, plain and simple, we are good kids. This is truly a shame.
What kid thinks “Let me ring a doorbell, because I am going to get shot?”. If the cop would have done what his handbook says, off-duty, about not getting involved in your own disputes, or if he would have been a man and said “stupid kids” and go back to sleep, Tyler would probably be getting ready for work and then fishing or something this weekend.
Seriously, this cop needs anger management classes and not to be an officer. He stripped himself of that right when he took a life of an unarmed all american kid. Or maybe he was drunk too, but that shall never be proven either.
Anyways, here is a link to another gathering for Tyler.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119447818066667
I can not believe this has happened, what a tragedy. I too think this story is a bit off and if that were my son, I would be demanding answers. I agree that ringing the door bell is a bit annoying, but to get killed over it? I think this is another story of a cop trying to act like a tough guy because he thinks he can…too bad a child (yep, hes 20, but thats SO young) had to die. This truly is sad, God Bless Tyler..
Kat,
I know the Spann family thanks you for your support in this matter. And you’re right, he was a tough guy. Or thought so. And because he had his wonderful Macho Man Complex surge at the WRONG time, he killed someone close to hundreds of people. I can tell you that NO ONE is going to settle without some answers, and I can tell you also that the Spann family won’t let him just get a slap on the wrist.
Their baby was torn from them. This cop needs to pay. He needs to NEVER weild a gun and badge again, and he should have signs posted in his yard letting people know he has anger management issues that caused him to kill a baby. Which, for all of us who knew Tyler, thought of him a just a cute baby. Because he was. Harmless and innocent. I really dislike most cops.
There are so many flags around this case. First of all many of us have played that same practical joke before…… (never thinking someone would come out and blow us away.) Second-> the officer surely couldn’t have been in fear for his life – if he had been he would have retreated to his house or vehicle called and waited for law enforcement backup. Third -> If Tyler was intoxicated as they claim he was- there’s no WAY he would have been agile and coherent enough to TACKLE the cop?? COME ON? I mean Tyler was running AWAY from the cop’s house? How did the cop feel threatened? I could see if Tyler was charging INTO the cop’s house… that would have made the defense story make sense! Tyler didn’t even have a weapon! How did the cop feel threatened? There are way too many cops out there with a hair trigger fingers and vigilante attitudes that they should NOT be allowed to stand behind their badges! This cop should be arrested- charged and CONVICTED of 2nd degree murder! Tyler was guilty of a prank- worst case scenario – disturbing the peace……… The cop is guilty of MURDER! I PRAY for Tyler’s family…… to lose a child is the most painful thing in the world… and I PRAY for JUSTICE in this case.
I am just shocked and saddened by some of the cruel heartless comments on the Herald Tribune Forum.
Donna, that’s why I almost never post there anymore. It seems a large percentage of the people there are just plain out mean. I don’t understand it a bit.
Does anyone know if it was standard procedure for the deputy to be handcuffed that night?
Has anyone stop to consider that it was not one incident. Days before the shooting the officers patrol car was vandalized. Not to mention compalints of vacant homes being vandalized. So should the cop have sat and done nothing based on these facts? I agree he should he have called for back up when he left in his cruser not after he had made the stop. Based on eye witness accounts and the cornors report it appears the officers story was correct concering the struggle. It is important to not Mr. Spann did not die tohis prank but due to his struggling and attempting to disarm a law enforcement officer. At this point the officer had no choice but to protect himself. I agree it is a shame a young man is no longer with us but at the same time this would not have happened if Mr. Spann did not try to disarm the officer.
You will all be very shocked and surprised when the official investigation is released. Do you think that the law enforcement officials are stupid and that cops in general are stupid?
When Verdoni is cleared, you will all be on your soap boxes screaming cover-up.
I suppose you would have preferred that the Verdoni was the one who was shot.
There is no sense in arguing with you people because you have already made up you’re mind.
Hey Joe the Plumber, Tyler Spann was 5’4″. How small is Big Bad Verdoni that he could not overpower this 5’4″ mammoth of a man without using his firearm? Why did he have his firearm?; no tazer, no cuffs? Everybody on this blog is irate because they know Tyler and his family. They know his character and this does not add up! I hope you don’t have any children! Protect and serve!
You’re claim on how you knew Tyler so well, then you knew about his strength and athletic abilities. Verdoni is 13 years older, and probably not as “in shape” as Tyler. Regardless if Verdoni had his cuffs, as soon as he would have started to cuff Tyler, the fight would have been on.
All you want to do is glorify Tyler and condemn Verdoni. This may be news to you all, but cops are not mind readers. Under the circumstances, I’ll guarantee Verdoni didn’t anticipate being attacked once Tyler initially complied. Fearing arrest, Tyler clearly panicked and his wires got crossed making a really bad decision.
I wish this never happened. I feel sick for the Spann family and The Verdoni family.
Yes there are a lot of “what if’s” in this incident. And I do have kid’s and a wife. And I do serve and protect. Just be glad we are out there. There have been 54 law officers killed in just 4 months of 2010. We don’t know what or why people do the things they do. But I’ll tell you this. Alcohol is generally 90% involved in what we deal with.
10 years ago this past March, my best friend and former partner had to shoot and kill a man that attacked him with a knife. A day doesn’t go by that he doesn’t think about it. Every year on the anniversary of the shooting, we sit, talk and cry together. My friend does not deserve this daily pain he feels every day. And Verdoni will as well. We are not animals or assassins.
But sometimes we have to do the unthinkable and take a life.
It’s too bad that Tyler had to die. I wish he would have just been arrested and Verdoni could have won the fight without shooting him. Then Tyler would have been facing a loitering and prowling, trespass, Felony Battery on a LEO, resisting arrest with violence and trying to deprive an officer of his weapon.
The other outcome would the Sheriff’s Office would be burying a deputy and a young wife and 4 month old baby would be without a husband and Daddy.
Nothing good came out of this incident. For anyone.
I agree that everyone involved wished it never happened. Agreed Officer Verdoni will have to live with this forever and that is unfortunate for him and his family. Justified? Again, no cuffs, no tazer, no maze, just a gun, Not justified!
As a son of a Police Officer, a veteran, a parent, and a proud American, I raise my children to respect authority and to stick up for what is right. You sticking up for your fellow sworn Officer of The Law is dignified. Asking everone in this community to somehow believe use of deadly force was the only resort is total bunk! Thank you for your service, and your loyalty, but you are wrong on this one! There were many other options that could have gone done in the mean streets of Venice.
I agree that everyone involved wished it never happened. Agreed Officer Verdoni will have to live with this forever and that is unfortunate for him and his family. Justified? Again, no cuffs, no tazer, no maze, just a gun, Not justified!
As a son of a Police Officer, a veteran, a parent, and a proud American, I raise my children to respect authority and to stick up for what is right. You sticking up for your fellow sworn Officer of The Law is dignified. Asking everone in this community to somehow believe use of deadly force was the only resort is total bunk! Thank you for your service, and your loyalty, but you are wrong on this one! There were many other options that could have gone down in the mean streets of Venice.
I have family in law enforcement. Tons of family. An uncle who’s served more than 20 years, alone. A brother, a great friend whom I adore, etc. I am SHOCKED and amazed at them. I was sure that they’d all band together and say something totally stupid. Much like other people here have done. Instead, they grieve and sympathize with the Spann’s. And they gain my respect for having done so.
I can claim to know Ty VERY well. I can tell you he was gentle, kind, sweet, patient and funny. He was taught respect for the law and those who uphold it. I can tell you, from what I know, Ty would have never tried to disarm an officer. Drunk or not. And I had seen him drunk before. He was a goofball. Nothing more. Sure as hell wasn’t violent.
I have a lot of respect for the law. I have to, otherwise my butt would be disowned. If I knew in my heart Tyler were guilty of what this officer said, I’d say, “Okay, this is horrible but that’s what happens.”
Since I don’t believe for an instant this is what happened, I’ll never eat my words. And furthermore, I don’t think it’s appropriate for ANYONE to come in here and pull some BS nonsense about race being a factor and blah blah if this were a “black” kid… SCREW that!
If Ty were a black kid, I’d still have loved him and I’d still be right on this site, telling off a whole bunch of you ignorant people who didn’t know Ty. Shame on some of you. And you’re right, Plumber, nothing good is going to come from this on anyone’s side. Guess the new daddy should have thought about that before he fired a deadly wepon at a 20 year old boy.
Well said Glenn. It always amazes me how self-righteous LEOs can be. They chose the job they are doing, if they are going to complain about being in harms way everyday,or having to live with themselves after killing someone, then maybe they should have chosen another job. I will never believe that this should have ended with Tyler being shot, nor started with Verdoni running out of house with a loaded gun to chase someone who clearly posed no harm to him nor his family. We will never really know what happened that night, but I do find it very strange that the only corroborating witness is a friend of Verdoni, and that everyone else in ear shot never heard any of what Verdoni says went down, and even more strange that there is no official record of Verdoni’s call for back-up. Some people are assuming things like “Fearing arrest, Tyler clearly panicked and his wires got crossed making a really bad decision”, yet they weren’t even there, and have no first knowlege of what happened. Personally, I think it makes more sense that Verdoni was so angry that HIS judgment was flawed and he let that anger get the best of him, and if it’s his age that prevents him from correctly subduing a suspect, then maybe it’s time for him to retire.
Like many posters here…we have soo many questions…
We live 3 blocks away – one of our neighbors had their window knocked on late at night and they made the mistake of calling the Sarasota County Deputies a while back and were told that only the Venice Police Department handled things on the island.
So why if it was not even Verdoni’s jurisdiction did he not have to radio or inform the VPD of his actions? And after reading the postings of Tyler’s size 5′ 4″ – 150 lbs. – it is soo hard to imagine Tyler unarmed, with a nonviolet history – having not even committed a crime – just feet from his home being such a threat to a much bigger fully trained officer – that the only option was killing him?
And the protocols that appear to not have been followed – like the fact that Verdoni was involved personally (and probably stressed and exhausted with a newborn at home and up studying all night) -he should not have been the one persuing them – the verbal commands that were missing, a non-holstered gun stuffed in his shorts while pursing a non-criminal, non-dangerous to the neighborhood door bell ringer?
It should not be that surprising to anyone that Verdoni claims to have been “attacked” – otherwise he would be in jail now for shooting Tyler.
Hopefully our justice system can find out what really happened…We pray Tyler’s “actions” his character and the type of person he was – will prevail over Verdoni’s “words” that Tyler was such a violent threat the only option he had was to kill him.
I hope friends of Tyler and the Spann family and anyone interested in due process are not banking on getting a just and fair hearing from the police side. The thin blue line is massing now to cover this morons ass. The only “witness” is Verdoni’s friend. Another friend of Verdoni is the investigating officer. Notice how many LEOs are getting on here and boo-hooing about how hard and dangerous their jobs are and how no-one respects them. (The thugs haven’t worked it out yet you have to earn respect) The word has gone out for the boys to rally behind their fellow “protector and server”.
This will be the normal cover up that all protocols were followed everything was done according to procedure and it is unfortunate that a drunk, 135lb, 5″ 4″ 20 year old who viciously attacked a defender of our freedoms ended up dead. There will be no mention of anger management classes for Verdoni. (There should be a symbol for sarcasm)
If Verdoni is held accountable to the smallest degree for his actions I will apologise to all concerned on this blog in capital letters.
Timsalad…
I love you. :)
UGHHHH seriously!