JFRD employee suing SJSO over wife's shooting death

A Jacksonville Fire and Rescue employee is suing the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office over the shooting death of his wife.

The newly filed lawsuit stems from an incident in April 2012. The Sheriff’s Office responded to the home of Richard and Andrea Sheldon on County Road 214 to do what the lawsuit describes as a welfare check.

The lawsuit describes the home as secluded and claims the Sheriff’s Office didn’t try to contact the couple before getting to the scene. It further says deputies parked a fair distance from the home itself, so that their cars and lights couldn’t be seen from the home.

The Sheriff’s Office had information that Richard Sheldon was off in the woods, but Andrea Sheldon was in the home and possibly armed. Deputies approached the home and, when Andrea Sheldon answered, there was eventually gunfire. The lawsuit claims there were no instructions from deputies or justification for the gunfire during the incident. Andrea Sheldon was killed.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement ruled the shooting justified, saying deputies were responding to a disturbance involving firearms and Andrea Sheldon pointed a gun at one of the responding deputies. The lawsuit, however, claims the Sheriff’s Office escalated the situation with their response and also violated their own policies relating to how to properly respond to this type of situation.

Richard Sheldon is claiming a loss of past and future wages, severe emotional pain and suffering, funeral expenses, and loss of consortium as a result of the shooting death of his wife. His lawsuit claims excessive force, unreasonable seizure, battery and more. The Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff, and responding deputies are all named.

Sheldon is seeking actual and compensatory damages, litigation costs, and other relief.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office says they haven’t seen the lawsuit yet so they can’t yet comment.