Court Affirms Self-Defense Against Police Officers

4/16/20 Florida Today reports on a case where police not in uniform, who did not identify themselves, and grabbed a woman at her front door, ended up in a gunfight with the woman's uncle.  They charged him with attempted murder of a police officer. 

Prosecutors and Brevard County sheriff’s investigators said DeRossett opened fire at deputies who were arresting his niece on a prostitution charge.

DeRossett’s attorney’s argued that he did not know who the men were confronting his niece and that he was responding to her screams for help at the front door.

The shooting took place as the sheriff’s office investigated reports of prostitution taking place at the home Mary Ellis DeRossett, 47, shared with her uncle, DeRossett.

Gunfire ensued and Deputy Casey Smith was shot in the lower abdomen. He recovered from his injuries. Both Ellis, a convicted prostitute known as The Cougar, and DeRossett, then a security guard at Port Canveral, suffered minor gunshot injuries, reports show.