All right, anybody not ready? Hey, good morning. I'm Penel County Sheriff Bob Walter and we're here today to discuss the attempted murder of Penelis County Sheriff's Corporal Matt Akin and Sergeant Jake Vano on March 12th of 2023. Uh we're going to today release the bodywn camera video of the shooting. Uh both Corporal Akin and Sergeant Vano who shot and killed the suspect, Zeon Bostik, uh were wearing bodywn cameras at the time of the incident and the entire situation is captured on video. Corporal Aken and Sergeant Vano are also both here today to answer any questions that you have. Uh, Corporal Aken has not seen and does not want to see the video. So, they're next door and we'll bring them in once we're finished and showing and explaining the video. So, I also say that to remind you that you're going to see the video. Corporal Aken has not seen it. So, just keep that in mind as you ask any questions of him. Uh, Corporal Aken and Sergeant Viano are here because we received several media requests to interview them and this is in lie of any individual interviews. uh after today they will not be available for any further media interviews. Our public information office will provide you with copies of the video that we're going to release today. The videos that we are releasing today uh it's a composite video of the entire videos that recorded uh on Sergeant Biano and Corporal Akens bodywn cameras. We're not releasing the raw video because it's frankly raw and some of it is inappropriate to release. After Bostik shot Corporal Aken, uh, Corporal Akin immediately fell to the ground. Corporal Aken was unconscious and he was not breathing. Corporal Aken only survived because responding deputies and later relieved by paramedics performed CPR on Corporal Aken. Watching deputies perform CPR on another deputy who was not breathing after being shot is really hard to watch and somebody in something that nobody should ever have to watch. And that is what we are not releasing today. In too many situations that we respond to, there are questions about why things unfolded the way they did in a situation and we try to figure out why things lined up so wrong and led to a law enforcement officer's death. This situation is just the opposite. Things lined up the right way in a very bad situation and with the slightest changes to the events, Corporal Akin simply would not be here today. It's only because of the actions of Sergeant Jake Vano, K9 Taco, and the life-saving measures of his fellow deputies, Penelis County EMS, and the medical staff at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg that Corporal Aken survived. I'm going to summarize the events. I'm going to play the video, and then we'll bring in Corporal Aken and Sergeant Vano, as I said, to answer any questions that you have. So, here's what happened. On March 12th, 2023, at about 6:50 p.m., deputies were dispatched to a vehicle burglary call at 637160th Avenue North in the Lelman area of unincorporated St. Petersburg. A citizen reported seeing Bostik break into cars in the area. Bostik was carrying a backpack and he was wearing gloves. A citizen followed Bostik to the Grace Brethren Church located at 6362nd Avenue North. The citizen saw a deputy in the church parking lot. That deputy had responded to the burglary call and the citizen identified Bostic as the suspect in the burglaries. The deputy saw Bostic jump a fence near the residence at the rear of the church. So deputies established a perimeter and called for K9. Corporal Aken and his K9 partner Taco are the ones that responded at the request for K9. Sergeant Vano is a patrol sergeant uh and he was working in an area that is north of where this was occurring. And Sergeant Vano is a former K9 deputy. This is where for those unexplainable reasons, and they truly are unexplainable in the right way in this case, that things lined up right as opposed to wrong and led to Corporal Aken's life being saved. Sergeant Viano heard what was occurring on the radio, contacted Corporal Aken, and decided to leave his assigned area and head to where Corporal Aken was going to begin the K-9 track. Upon arrival, Corporal Aken was getting ready to begin the track, and Sergeant Vano decided to run the track with him. Most times, K9 handlers run tracks without another deputy being with him. As they began the track and watching it, it was what you would call a good track. It was solid. They were on it the whole way and it led them to a fence around the backyard of a residence at 638560th Avenue North. In this area of all where this occurred is depicted in the map on my left to your right and you can see where the K9 track began and where it ended. As you'll see in the video momentarily, when Corporal Akin and K9 Taco arrived at the fence, Taco was alerting to the backyard of the fenced residence and they had to go over the fence. They were followed over the fence by Sergeant Vano. As Corporal Akin and Taco moved through the backyard, Corporal Aken saw Bostik appear from around the corner of the house and Corporal Aken immediately identified himself and gave Bastic commands to show his hands. Instead of complying with those commands, Bostik moved back out of sight, concealed by the house, and waited with his gun out to ambush and shoot Corporal Aken as he moved west along the side of the house. Again, this is where things lined up for the good guys in some good and unexplainable way because there was a slight delay in Sergeant Vano going over the fence. That slight delay put just enough distance between Corporal Akin and Sergeant Vano that when Bostic shot Corporal Aken and then fired on Sergeant Vano, that Sergeant Vano had enough reaction time to hit the ground, get up, allow K9 Taco to bite Bostic and then shoot and kill Bostik. If Sergeant Vano had been tight with Corporal Aken, Bostik likely would have ambushed, shot, and incapacitated both of them instead of just ambushing, shooting, and incapacitating Corporal Aken. It's also highly probable that if Sergeant Viano had not been with Corporal Aken on the track that once he was shot and incapacitated and Corporal Akin was laying on the ground not breathing that Bostik would have shot Corporal Aken additional times because of Sergeant Vano's presence. Bostik was forced to turn his attention to Sergeant Vano and then he fired on Sergeant Vano as opposed to firing additional rounds into Corporal Aken. Another significant factor and hero in saving Corporal Akin's life and allowing Sergeant Biano to avoid being shot is K9 Taco. K9 handlers train a lot with their dogs for the gunshot scenario, but one never really knows how the K9 is going to react in the real situation. Here, K9 Taco reacted exactly as he was trained. And upon Corporal Lake and being shot, K9 Taco immediately engaged Bostik. Bostik, at 23 years old, had been arrested 18 times on 34 felonies and 22 misdemeanor. He had failed to appear in court the week before the shooting uh where he was due to be sentenced to a 5-year minimum mandatory on another burglary charge. Bostic had told family members he was never going back to state prison. And at 23 years old, he had already served two stints in state prison, one beginning when he was 17 years old. At the time of the shooting, Bostik had active warrants outstanding for his arrest for burglary and other felonies. Bastik had two guns on him. One semi-automatic 9 millimeter, which is the gun he used to shoot Corporal Laken, and a 380 caliber semi-automatic in his pocket. Both guns were loaded, and Bostik had 126 rounds of additional ammunition in his backpack for both guns. Both guns had been previously stolen in car burglaries, one in Manatee County and one in Marian County. As the video will show, Corporal Aken immediately fell to the ground after being shot. We have blurred him out while he's lying on the ground in the video, as you'll see here in a second. Corporal Aken was shot three times. Once in the leg, once in the wrist, and the most serious shot was to his neck. Bostic shot at Sergeant Vano three times and Sergeant Vano returned fire times killing Bostik. So I'm now going to uh play the video. Uh in this video again it's a composite and you'll see it identified is the body worn camera first of Corporal Aken. Then you'll see in real time the bodywn camera of Sergeant Viano. you'll see a segue and it'll transition into some still frames uh and we isolate Bostic with a gun and some other things that weren't being isolated and shown. Um during that second part of the video I may stop it. Uh we'll see how it goes and as it's playing so that you can get the full understanding of what happened out there. Uh so we'll get we'll play the first all the way through and play the second and perhaps play it again. We'll see uh how it how it plays out here. So, ask uh Deputy Breen to go ahead and uh play the video. [Music] Okay. Down. Down. [Music] Can you hold that one? [Music] [Music] GET YOUR HANDS UP. GET YOUR HANDS UP. CIRCLE. STOP. [Music] DOWN. DOWN. YEP. Let me go around. No, maybe not. [Music] Challenge. Challenge. Come get your hands. GET YOUR HANDS OUT. I CAN SEE THEM. GOOD. SO, as you can see here at this point, you can see here to my right, the board out on the ground is Corpal Akin after he's been shot. Uh, he's unconscious, not breathing. K9 Taco had apprehended Bostic and Sergeant Viano had shot him at that point. So, as you can see, where we're bringing you into this is when they after the track got to the fence and as I explained, Corp Wen went over first. slight delay. Sergeant Biano goes over and what you're gonna see now in the slowdown in the still frames. You're going to see where Bostic was at the corner of the house. He was given the commands. Corporal Aken identified himself and you can see how he had come out from the corner of the house. After being given the commands, he ducked back in and he sat there waiting for Corporal Aken and ambushed him. And you can see how he raised the gun. And then at that point after Corporal Akin went down, he turned the gun. And when you on that original video from Corporal Aken, of course, he's wearing the body worn camera and after he's shot. And where you see him is he goes down on the ground. And of course, the video is still recording. So when you see it go down, that's him laying on the ground after he's been shot. So we'll go ahead and and continue it. GET YOUR HANDS UP. GET YOUR HANDS UP, SIR. SO, there's Bosik. He's getting my hands. [Music] Stop it right there. So you can see, as I said, Corporal gave him the commands. He went back behind the house and he was sitting there waiting. And you can see right there is where he ambushed him when Corporal Aken went forward. And what you would hear from Corporal Aken is what he thought was going to happen, which has happened hundreds if not thousands of times in these tracks. When the K9 handlers are encountering the situation, they give somebody commands and they duck back behind something, a house or whatever that cover is. Usually they're taking off. And what he expected when he kept going was is to see Bostic running through the yard and he was going to release Taco. But obviously what he encountered was a guy who didn't want to go back to prison who was sitting there with his gun extended and was intent on killing a cop. Go ahead. Got challenge. Let's stop it there. So, so, so at that point you can see and as I said he had shot corporal Aken. He realized Viano was there. the dog was engaging and preparing to engage. But before the dog engaged is when Bostik was shooting at Sergeant Viano. And that's what you see right there is him shooting at Sergeant Viano. Good. Get your hands. Get your hands out like All right. So as to the facts, we'll bring in Sergeant Viano Corporal Akens. As to the facts at this point, do you all have any questions for me on the facts? I would just ask um how important was what Taco was doing to prevent Boston from taking really, you know, solid aim at the Couldn't get away. Huge. And this is where, you know, sometimes, as I said, and it's I can't explain it. Nobody can. Why this sequence of events l lined up on the right side as opposed to the wrong side. You know, in other situations I've been standing here in front of you talking about, whether it's Maggley or Hartwick or others and other police chiefs and sheriffs are sitting there telling you, I don't know why this went so south. I don't know why it went wrong. And it did. And but this is another example of how this situation and Corporal Viano who's walking in now is able to walk in here because of everything that lined up right including Taco. And if it hadn't been for Taco and Taco hadn't been there, no doubt in my mind this would have been a very different outcome. And the fact that Taco was able to uh engage Bostic is that it made a huge difference, made all the difference and allowed Sergeant Biano to do what he was able to do and and eventually being able to kill Bostic. So, u you know, K9 Taco is as much a hero in this as anybody else. So, this is Corporal Matt Akin, Sergeant Jake Viano. Uh they're not going to make any statements. Uh but they're here to answer any questions that you have and um make sure Matt if you would just turn hit the hit the it's on. Okay. All right. Okay. Good. All right. So, if you guys have any questions, they're here to answer any questions that you have. Just remember that Corp Wen has not seen the video. I would just ask, how you doing? Um I'm doing well. I have uh three doctors that are all now working together and communicating on uh on me getting better. Um there's some complications in my neck. Um some swelling in my spine that's causing some nerve issues, but um it was nice to hear all three doctors said that they see no reason why I won't make a full recovery. Um my hope is within 6 months um I'll be back working in Taco again. Um what what did you I mean you kind of sorry to be honest saw every thing from your perspective as it's all unfolded. Can you just take me through what what you saw as as this happened? Um obviously uh what how we were able to identify the bad guys. I I was running behind Corporal Aken and he challenged him from the corner of the house. At that point, I looked to the corner of the house and I was able to see just a little corner of his body with an extended hand and gun pointed directly at him. And then immediately once once I identified him at that point, uh, three shots were discharged by him. At that time, I'm at a full sprint and I'm trying to unholster myself, but before I was able to get get my gun out, he pointed toward me. And once the gun pointed at me, I knew I was behind the eightball at that point. So I just planted my right foot, jumped left behind some debris that was behind the house. And once I was able to unholster uh he had his opportunity and it was going to be our turn. Sergeant, what area were you patrolling when you heard that, you know, Corporal Aken needed help? And what exactly did you hear on the radio that said, you know, I need to get up and get over there? Yeah, so it was a burglary, vehicle burglary that was dispatched. I was working squad 2 which is north and I was in the area of Brian Derry and 66th Street. Um and I knew that it was in the northern part of squad one. So I wasn't too far away but still it was a was an area I wasn't assigned to. Uh but the call started to lengthen out. Um we started getting fresh sightings. We knew that the guy was running through backyards and it basically I knew our resources might be dwindling. So I thought no let me go back. I'm just going to help with perimeter is what my original thought was. get an extra car, another area to get into the area. And when I got down there, we had a fresh sighting. I was close enough. And uh Matt wasn't on scene yet. So I And since it was close to a wooded area where the guy was last seen, it was a good chance that he might be bed up in that wood area and we were going to need another pair of hands. And so I offered to run with him. Aken, um, what do you remember about how that day was? Is it everything? I mean, are there bits and pieces? What do you remember? Yeah, I have not seen the video yet. Um, but I spoke with the sheriff from the hospital and relayed my recollection of the video and he told me, "You're spot on. You know, you probably don't need to watch it." Um, I remember everything up to the point um when I saw Bostic, he peakedked out between, uh, houses and then went back the other way. Um, I've seen that a hundred times. You know, the guy seen him coming close, takes off running. So, in my mind, I was going to round the corner, see him running away, and I was going to send Taco. Um, when I rounded the corner, he already had the gun pointed at me and it was I mean there's I had zero time. I mean, I can't tell you if I released Taco intentionally or the shots happened so fast that I dropped the leash. Um, but uh, luckily Taco's training. Um, he did exactly what he's been trained to do. But, um, but yeah, 100%. I remember I remember seeing the back of the houses and um when I was on the ground I actually thought I got shot in the head and then I passed out and then um you know I I woke up screaming for Jake cuz you know Jake's been my mentor all through K9 when he was a K9 handler and I thought Jake was dead. Um so I remember everything um uh up to the point that I woke up and then you know once I start getting drugs on the medics I don't really remember much after that. Athan, just knowing that this was a suspect who had such a lengthy criminal record and who appears, you know, was willing to do whatever not to go back to prison, just how thankful are you to be here today and be, you know, able to even share these comments? Yeah, I'm I'm uh I'm very grateful. There's uh there's no doubt um that God work God worked his way between Jake and I. Jake was working in a separate area. You know, I think when you heard that I was coming, Jake and I have had a relationship for 15 years. And uh you know, we've ran when he was K9 with his two dogs. Um I always ran with him and vice versa. So, we've caught a lot of bad guys between each other. Um we were talking last night between the two of us, we've probably caught close to 500 bad guys here. Um so, um I'm very grateful to be here. All three of my injuries, um doing the leg, wrist, and neck, all three of them missed anything vital. Um, it's just it's it's nothing short of amazing that I'm still here. Um, but um, you know, in K9 we know that if the bad guy hears you and sees you, if he wants you, he's got you. It's just the dangers of K9. We swallow that bitter pill because that's the job. There's a lot of bad guys out there and and they want to, you know, run away because they're afraid of going to jail in prison. And luckily, we have the resources between uh K9 and and the helicopter to find these guys. Um, my family recognizes the danger of me being in K9. Um, and we swallow it because we trust the dogs are going to take care of us and our backups are going to do what they do. Um, this scenario, we've ran this scenario and I've taught this scenario as a trainer thousands of times. It worked out exactly it was supposed to. We understand as the handler, you're probably not going to make it through the ambush situation. Um, just by the grace of God, I I survived the ambush. So, I am uh I'm very grateful and very anxious to go back and start catching more bad guys again. It's the only thing I've ever been really good at, so I'm ready to go. Okay, you got one over here. Can you speak to your relationship with Taco and the kind of trust that you guys have together? Yes. Uh so, Taco is my second dog. Um and my first dog I still have. Um he's 13. Um, you know, I when when I when I run K9 schools or I teach junior handlers, you know, I tell them that, you know, this dog is not your friend. He's not even your partner. This dog is a subcontractor to go find bad guys, you know, because you have to have that separation a little bit because there might be a time where you have to release your dog and you might not get him back. Um, that's what we say, you know, deep down what we don't talk about at parties. I mean, that that dog isn't my brother. I mean, um I saw him on Tuesday and that was uh very intense. It's the first time I've seen him since the hospital. Um so, um he's coming back home on Friday. Um my wife and daughter miss him and we're ready to have him back. He's uh this has changed our relationship, you know. Uh, you know, I'm not I'm not bashful of correcting him when he needs it, um, to keep him doing the job he needs to do. But, um, you know, Taco did what he did because he was trained to do it. And the training involves the entire K9 unit. You know, uh, I can't teach Taco to fight. The guys that wear the bite suit and the muzzle um, and the bite sleeves and all that, they taught Taco to fight. So, K9 is a team sport. Um, so I can't thank the members of the K9 unit um, enough for helping me train Taco to do what he did. And I'm confident every dog in our unit would have done what he did. But, um, as far as me and Taco and our relationship, it has, uh, it has changed quite a bit. Uh, I would not be here and I would argue that, you know, Sergeant Fano would not be here. Um, Taco doing his job gave Jake the opportunity to put, you know, rounds on target. And, um, both of us are uh, eternally grateful for that dog. So yeah, our relationship is uh never going to be the same. To be honest that also just the fact that you know had the had Taco not done what he done that Oh yeah. If it wasn't for the training that Matt has put into the dog, what the unit's done, uh, for the dog to react the way he did, for me to have been an experienced handler and understand the dog's reaction, I think is why this all played out the way it was. I think the only reason why that suspect missed me was because of the dog engaging him when he did. Um, obviously my body camera doesn't see that, but it's apparent that that dog was going to do its job while he was trying to kill me. So, uh, thank God for T. We're we're both very blessed. I think, uh, it worked out the way we would hope it could. Um, but yeah, if it wasn't for Taco doing what Taco does and, uh, we we'd have a different story today. And what does this say? At least you can go answer this. What does it say about what you all um deal with on on a daily basis um and the danger that you face? Yeah, that that's the thing. We in law enforcement, we're always anticipating the worst, hoping for the best. Um this was the worst and we fortunately the way we're trained, we're prepared for that. And you know, even your preparation may not action's faster than reaction. your preparation only gets you so far. But to dress to be as long in the career as we and we are and to dress every day going out expecting all these different scenarios and those worst case scenarios and you're hoping to find the best. Um and it's it's a it's a different way of living that we have to do. We we go home and we get home every night or in the morning after working all night and we think to ourselves, "Thank God everything went good today." you know, we can check that one off that that everything worked out today. Um, but you're always on edge. It's it's it's that it's the career we chose that you're always expecting the worst and hoping for the best. Just what does it mean to you to see just the outpouring of support from the community, especially, you know, with that video of you walking out of the hospital and, you know, following this event? Just any message, you know, to people who have been sending out prayers for you? Um, it's uh it's overwhelming. um because you do get jaded in law enforcement. You do see the the worst of people um to so to see the outpouring of support you know one from you know I've been a you know deputy for 17 years and so the friendships and relationships that I've made um just within the agency that you forget about but my phone is the non-stop and the amount of cards that have come through um you know just prior to coming out the sheriff dropped off a pile of cards just from people have never met me that just want to support. So, it's uh it's overwhelming. I'm very I'm very uh thankful for that support. That's been very touching, too. And we see it every once in a while. We work midnights uh for a long time, so we don't get to have contact with the general public a lot. You know, they're usually asleep and their day starts when we're sleeping. Um so, we don't get to see a lot of that the support that we do have in this community. And through this we so many people have reached out to us both and it's been very humbling and uh we're very grateful for it. I think we are very fortunate here in Penel County to have a lot of community support. Uh we appreciate that and you know but what the general public also needs to know is is that law enforcement is good. Law enforcement officers are good people. Doesn't mean that we're perfect. doesn't mean that sometimes things go wrong, but that's life. And it doesn't matter what the profession is. And you got a whole lot of people that do this because they care. They want to make a difference. They want to make sure that others are safe and can go about their business on a daily basis. And it's guys like this that are out there. These are the absolute majority. And every profession has its one-offs. And unfortunately, the attention, notoriety, discussion, especially, I guess, the last few years, is focused more on the one-offs. Let's not focus on the one-offs. Let's focus on the majority, the absolute majority, who are doing the right thing for the right reasons. And law enforcement in this county, in this state, in this country, law enforcement's not broken. Law enforcement's good. and it's good people doing the right thing and we'll deal with those who aren't. But it's no different than any other profession, you know, and I think that's really important for people to understand. [Music] All right. Anybody have anything else? All right. Thanks. We appreciate it. Thanks, sir.