Florida man threatens police with knife, gets ‘exactly what he asked for’: sheriff

Law enforcement officers in Florida fatally shot a man who had purportedly threatened to stab his girlfriend and later menaced the police with a knife.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd detailed the incident during a press conference held on Tuesday night. The events unfolded after a 911 call was placed just before 8:45 p.m.

The call stemmed from a woman reporting that her boyfriend, identified as 55-year-old Angelo Theodore Curcione, had allegedly attempted to assault her with a knife.

Swiftly responding to the distress call, officers from the Auburndale Police Department arrived at the scene within six minutes. However, by that time, Curcione had already fled the area.

According to the sheriff’s office, a Polk County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit and another K-9 unit from the Auburndale Police Department commenced a search for the suspect, accompanied by an additional officer.

Approximately ten minutes into the search, one of the K-9 units alerted the officers to an entrance within the neighborhood. It was at this point that Curcione emerged from the bushes, brandishing a knife in a menacing manner.

The suspect shouted, “Shoot me! Kill me! Shoot me! Kill me!,” Judd said, adding that the suspect was aggressively approaching the two officers and deputy.

Confronted with this threat, the authorities made the fateful decision to discharge their weapons, resulting in the fatal shooting of Curcione.