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Man in police-involved shooting has no brain activity, family says

By Brittney Donovan and Kristen Dressel
By Brittney Donovan and Kristen Dressel

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax will have complete coverage of this developing story on CBS47 at 5 and FOX30 at 10.

A man was shot by an officer after he led police on a high-speed chase and crashed head on into a patrol car in Springfield on Sunday, police said.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office identified the man was Vernell Bing, 22. The officer involved was Tyler Landreville.

Landreville fired his weapon five times, and one shot struck Bing in the head, JSO said. Landreville has not spoken to JSO since the incident, but his attorneys have, JSO said. Landreville fired his weapon five times.

Bing's family says he was shot five times, not once as JSO said Monday.

JSO urged witnesses to the officer-involved shooting to come forward to aid an internal investigation into the shooting.

"If there are individuals who saw what happened. Let us know," JSO Chief Chris Butler said. "We want a thorough investigation."

Officers tried to pull over a red Chevy Camaro around 5:45 p.m. because they said it was involved in a shooting in April. JSO believes the car was involved in a separate shooting on April 16.

The driver refused to stop and fled the area.

Officers later saw the car on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway and an officer called for assistance for a felony traffic stop. They tried to stop the car but the driver led the officers on a high-speed pursuit.

Officers chased him through Moncrief, downtown and then to the Springfield area.

During the chase, officers say the suspect hit an officer's patrol car head on. The driver then crashed into a building.

JSO said Monday that Bing hit the patrol car at 53 mph and that he didn't apply the brakes before hitting the JSO car.

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Witnesses told JSO the officer approached the suspect's car without drawing his weapon and gave him commands.

The suspect did not listen and got out of his car. Officers said they do not know what caused the officer to grab his weapon and fire at the suspect five times.

Officers did not know how many times the suspect was hit.

The man fell to the ground and was taken into custody. The victim is at UF Health Jacksonville for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

The man's mother told Action News Jax reporter Russell Colburn that her son, Vernell Bing, 22, has no brain activity.

Officers have not yet identified the suspect.

Several witnesses say they saw the shooting, but disagreed with what JSO said happened.

Octavia Dixon said she saw the police car hit the Camaro, then the Camaro hit the building.

"The man got out and tried to run but he was limping like his leg was hurting," said Dixon. "When police shot him, he fell on the ground. He preceded to shoot the man while he was on the ground. The other police car that was behind him got out and proceeded to shoot the man as well."

A woman who said she was the suspect's mother was at the scene.

"We just feel that its sad that she has to stand out here all this time and nobody wants to say anything but social media and everything else can get it first," said the mother's friend Tasha Thomas. "And they know this is his mom and his dad is at the hospital."

Officers said they did not recover a gun from the man who was shot.

The officer, T.L. Landreville, was taken to UF Health Jacksonville as a precaution after his patrol car was hit. Officers said he is a seven-year veteran with JSO and was discharged from the hospital hours after the crash.

JSO said the Camaro was stolen during an armed car-jacking in April and had been seen in the area during the past week.

JSO is expected to give an update at 1 p.m. Monday. Watch the news conference on CBS47 Action News Jax, online and mobile device. Follow us on Twitter @ActionNewsJax for the latest.

Cox Media Group

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