Man’s Death During St. Pete Police Struggle Was ‘Excusable Homicide,’ Sheriff Says

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A Pinellas County investigative task force and the State Attorney’s Office have concluded that two St. Petersburg police officers acted lawfully during a physical confrontation with a man who died after officers responded to a mental health crisis in August, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office news release issued Monday.

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri called the Aug. 22 death of 48-year-old Brian Michael Pepal an “excusable homicide” under Florida law in a letter to St. Petersburg police Chief Anthony Holloway following an investigation by the Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force.

State Attorney Bruce Bartlett reached the same conclusion in a Sept. 28 letter to Gualtieri, saying the officers’ use of force was a reasonable response to Pepal’s actions, PCSO said.

Officers Daniel Poveda, 44, and Tammy Craig, 56, responded to a home on 5th St. N. for a welfare check on Pepal, who was reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis, on Aug. 22 around 11 a.m.

Pepal attacked the officers when he came out of the residence, the sheriff’s office said. The officers deployed their electronic control weapons and physically restrained Pepal.

After he was handcuffed, officers discovered he was unresponsive and began life-saving measures. Pepal was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead just after noon.

Craig was also transported to a hospital following the incident with injuries sustained during the assault.

The Medical Examiner’s Office determined Pepal’s manner of death was homicide and his cause of death was traumatic asphyxiation, the sheriff’s office said.

The report listed restraint, coronary atherosclerosis, obesity and schizophrenia as contributing conditions. Toxicology testing was positive for marijuana.

The task force’s investigation included officer statements, physical and video evidence, witness statements, and the Medical Examiner’s findings, PCSO said.

In his letter to Gualtieri, Bartlett said the officers could have been legally justified in using deadly force because of Pepal’s actions but instead used Tasers and physical restraints to stop the attack.

“The force used by Officer Poveda and Officer Craig was a reasonable response to the circumstances presented by Brian Pepal’s own actions,” Bartlett wrote. “Therefore, it is the conclusion of the State Attorney’s Office that the death of Brian Pepal was an excusable homicide [under state law.]”

The Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force was created in 2020 to independently investigate law enforcement uses of deadly force in the county.

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