So, we're here today to present the findings of the Penllis County use of deadly force task force investigation regarding the death of Brian Pepple P on August 22nd, 2026. With me here today is St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway. We ordinarily conduct a press briefing at the scene at the time of law enforcement matters involving the death of a person, but due to the nature of this case, this is the first press briefing in this matter because we needed to wait for a manner and cause of death determination by the medical examiner. I'm going to present the investigative findings and Chief Holloway can make any or take any questions that you have about St. Petersburg Police Department's policies or the officers involved. I'm going to give a brief summary of the incident and then we're going to play some body warn camera video and then I'll follow up with a more detailed explanation of the findings. We will also release my written determination as well as a written determination by the state attorney after his independent investigation that the death of Brian Piple is excusable homicide under Florida law. Now, before I play the video and just for a quick summary, uh, at about 11 o'clock a.m. on August 22nd, St. Petersburg Police Department officers Daniel Paveda and Tammy Craig responded to 7295 Fifth Street North in St. Pete for a welfare check on PPE as it was reported that he was experiencing a mental health crisis. The officers received information that Ple was exhibiting concerning behavior, including banging on doors in the neighborhood and stating that he was looking for pedophiles. He also threatened to use a machete to cut off a neighbor's head earlier that morning. Upon making contact with PPE, he violently attacked officers Paveda and Craig. Both officers defended themselves and deployed their electronic control weapons in response. Officers restrained Ple in handcuffs, but after a very violent fight. Shortly afterward, Pepple became unresponsive and officers began life-saving measures. EMS transported Pepple to St. Anony's Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. So, I'm going to go ahead and play the body warn camera video for you now. The first 45 seconds are from Officer Pabeda's body warn camera before it was knocked off in the fight. And the second 5 minutes and 25 seconds are from officer Craig's bodywn camera. I'm going to stop playing it at the time that the officers began resuscitation efforts, but what we released to you here this afternoon will be the entire video. Of note, there's a lot of things of note, but one in particular that you'll see highlighted in here about the 1 minute and 50 second mark [clears throat] is Officer Craig's video that shows Officer Craig with a dent in the truck. He was so violently and so was officer Pavda but pushed into the truck that it it dented the vehicle. So just take a look at that about the 150 mark into it. So go ahead and play the video. We're fighting. We're fighting. It sounds like he's up there. >> Yeah. Brian, open the doors. The police department. >> I remember this guy when he lived down there. >> The name is from there. >> Same thing. Same thing. Same thing. She showed up. Same thing. Same scenario. Wanted them corrected. >> That's fine. >> Just >> Hey, is the police department? >> Hey, Brian. >> Hi. >> Where's the police department? >> Where's the police department? >> We are We're fighting. We're fighting. >> Oh, did I get you? >> Yeah. >> Sorry. >> Get on your stomach. >> Step it up. Get on your stomach. >> Put your HANDS BEHIND YOUR BACK. >> YOUR BACK. KEEP POPPING THEM. Step it up. >> [groaning] >> Put your Put your other hand back. >> Bring it back. Bring it back. >> No. No. You just keep popping them. >> Bring it back. >> Keep popping them. >> I'm out. >> God. >> Bring it back. Bring the other one back. >> Hold on. Hold on. Do it. >> Bring the other one back. >> Are you okay? >> I'm okay. Hey, give me a hand. Give me all the >> Thanks. >> We need more units. >> Bravo. He's >> still fighting. >> Hold this. Hold this for me. >> Bring it back. >> Bring it back. >> Let go. >> Come back, sir. >> [clears throat] >> Bring it back. Here, >> hold on. Okay, relax. >> Relax. Relax. >> I thought YOU WERE SHOCKING ME. STOP. >> LET GO. TURN THAT OFF. DAMN. >> Got it. Got it. here. >> We're 15 now. [snorts] >> We're going to need rescue. >> [ __ ] >> Hey, can you give I got this. >> Okay. >> Please give me >> bring a car up here. We got res. You call rescue. [snorts] >> Oh yeah. >> He's going bat Leo. >> Yeah. >> He's going. You're going bat Leo, brother. [sighs] You okay? >> Yeah. You po me right here. You okay? >> Oh, he punched me in the head. >> He punched you? >> Yeah. >> Punched me. We did good. Good job. I got him. My god. >> Don't move. Quit moving. >> Just take a breather. Just take a breather. Just take a breather. >> We got him secure. >> He's shot nearly six times. >> Sorry. [laughter] >> We're not putting him in there yet. >> Not until we get a couple. No, but just leave it open. >> We're probably going to need rescue up here first. Soon as we get him up, he's going to fight. >> Yeah. >> And just to confirm, did you guys have a taser deployment? >> Do you need a Just take a breath. >> Just stand up. >> Somebody Somebody uh take his take your spot. >> Take your spot. >> I got this. I got this. >> Okay. Just breathe. >> I'm missing my camera. >> I got it for you. Okay. You want me to get it right? You want to put it on? It's okay. It's on side. >> Okay, >> sir. >> Yeah. I don't know. I'm all right. You >> sure? >> You punched me in the head a few times. >> Roll him on the side. >> So, as you can see, that was an extremely violent fight uh between Officer Paveda, Officer Craig, and Ple. Um both officers sustained injuries. Officer Paveda's injuries were lacerations to his face. It didn't require any significant medical treatment. Officer Craig did require treatment at the hospital. It was deep enough where she had to have sutures. Uh thankfully, they're both fine, but both of them were injured. And you can see by the dents in that one vehicle and there was a big dent in the other vehicle that when he violently, and it was violent, pushed them into the vehicles with such force that it caused them to dent. So again, we're very lucky, very fortunate that the officers were not more seriously injured as a result of Ple's attack on them. But to talk a little bit more about leading up to this is Ple had a history of mental health issues. Uh we know from the investigation that he experienced his first significant mental health crisis about 10 years ago. Uh that involved hallucinations and he was diagnosed back then as being schizophrenic. Pebble's family reported that his mental health uh declined substantially after he was struck by a vehicle back in 2023 and that he had a history of paranoid delusions and threatening behavior toward neighbors. Uh he was Baker acted in 2025 after he threatened neighbors that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at that time. Uh again this year on April 4th of 2026 he was Baker acted after chasing passing cars yelling people to come and get me quote unquote. Uh family reported that Peple unfortunately as you see way too many times in these situations is that he refused to take his medication and when we refused to take his medication then he lapsed into these episodes. So on that day during the early morning hours of this incident on August 22nd uh St. St. Pete PD responded to Pebble's old neighborhood and they had received reports that he was loudly knocking on doors and claiming that he was looking for pedophiles. Uh he was gone upon their arrival. Later that morning, Ple's brother arrived at this home and found him pacing and Ple claimed that his dog had been quote executed by the St. Petersburg Police Department, which is not true. Uh the brother was concerned for his own safety and he left the residence. He didn't call the police at that time. He didn't do anything. He didn't try to intervene in any way, but he realized that he was in crisis and that there was a problem. The next door neighbor uh to Ple's home reported that he had been showing signs of mental health decline for about a week. The neighbor said that Ple was pacing, talking to himself, and was reenacting a war scene. that same neighbor uh at about 9:00 that morning, so about two hours before this incident, uh had had an encounter with PE and he threatened to cut her head off. At about 10:52 a.m. Uh on that morning, St. Petersburg Police Sergeant Omar Jundy was approached by Peppa's stepmother. She flagged him down [snorts] and she requested that the police do a welfare check on PE. The stepmother told Sergeant Jundy that PPE was experiencing a mental health crisis and informed him that he had threatened the neighbor with the machete about two hours earlier. Officers Craig and Pava responded uh to Peel's residence. As you can see here in the video where they arrived at about 11:07 and as you saw in the video, they knocked on the door and announced themselves as police officers. Uh he opened the door, as you saw, in a very agitated state and he attacked the officers. I'm not going to account I'm not going to recount uh any further uh what happened because you just saw it in uh the video and it's all self-explanatory and the specifics uh in even greater detail are in copies of the written findings, the written determination which we'll give you a copy of of mine and the state attorney's office. But I will reiterate though that Pepple violently punched officer Pavda on the side of his head with sufficient force again to push him backward into that vehicle and to cause lacerations on his head and that momentum caused that big dent in the door. Same thing with Officer Craig and it was violent enough where she pushed into a truck, dented the truck and she ended up having to have sutures because of the lacerations that she received. The officers under these circumstances, there's no doubt, would have been legally justified in using deadly force at this point, but they showed great restraint in defending themselves by using less lethal force in the form of an electronic control weapon or what people commonly refer to as a taser. The taser was minimally effective. officers began using physical force and they were able to get Peppo handcuffed as they all fell to the ground. Because Peple continued to move and not follow directions, even after being handcuffed, as you saw in the video, officers crossed Pepple's legs and raised them toward his waist to keep him from moving. So, he's on the ground. He's still moving about. They cross his legs and push him up to secure him. Now, an important fact at this point is that both officers were noticeably fatigued after fighting with POE and trying to recover from the fight. And simply put, the officers were gassed. And it's a lot of physical energy goes in being involved in a fight like that. And they didn't have much left on the tank at that point. The officers saw that Peple was unresponsive. They began CPR and requested EMS. and he was then, as I said before, then pronounced deceased, excuse me, at St. Anony's Hospital. So, the Panel's Pascal Medical Examiner's Office conducted uh an autopsy in this case is required by law and the medical examiner is responsible under the law for determining the manner and the cause of death. The medical examiner determined that the manner of death in this case to be homicide and the cause of death to be traumatic asphyxiation with contributing conditions of restraint, coronary atheroscerosis, obesity, and schizophrenia. The toxicology results showed that he had marijuana in his system. Now, I want to really make this as clear as I can for everybody is that homicide and murder are defined differently under the law. Every homicide is not a murder. And all the medical examiner's office determined that the uh cause of death uh here is homicide is this was caused by simply the act of another. And that's what a homicide is. It's when somebody dies at the hands of another, which in this case were the lawful acts [snorts] of the St. Petersburg Police Department officers in defending themselves and taking PEL into custody. As to the traumatic esphyxiation determination, neither officer applied direct pressure nor squeezed Pebble's neck in any manner, and there is no exterior trauma to Pele's neck as was established by the video and confirmed by the autopsy findings. So, we consulted with the medical examiner and learned that the traumatic esphyxiation cause of death determination was due to the totality of the circumstances surrounding the restraint. More specifically, the medical examiner considered the deployment of the taser and the physical force used to bring Pebble to the ground, his face down positioning after being taken to the ground, the application of handcuffs behind his back, the positioning of his legs, which were again crossed at the ankles and bent backward toward his waist, and the brief period during which officer paveed applied pressure with his knee to the area of Pebble's shoulder. And I'm going to say it again. There was nothing on his neck, nothing anywhere near his neck. It was only on his shoulder as he was there trying to keep him on the ground as Pepple was moving about. The medical examiner explained that these circumstances resulted in compression that restricted Pepple's ability to breathe and when considered in conjunction with his underlying severe coronary atheroscerosis and obesity, that's what contributed to the traumatic esphyxiation. It's also important and very relevant as I said that at no time was there any restraint applied to Ple's neck. It's also relevant that while Ple was faced down, he was still non-compliant and the officers were fatigued and trying to recover from the fight. Under Florida statute 782.03, 03 and I'm going to par paraphrase. A homicide is excusable homicide under the law when it's done while doing any lawful act by lawful means with ordinary caution and without any unlawful intent upon sudden and sufficient provocation or upon sudden combat. As I said, Pebble's violent attack posed an immediate threat of danger or great bodily harm to both officers Paveda and Craig. So under these circumstances, the officers would have been justified in using deadly force to protect themselves under Florida statute 776.012, which they didn't do. Rather, they resorted rather than resorting to deadly force, the officers used physical force and deployed their tasers to defend themselves and to overcome Pebble's continued resistance and gain control of them. So Brian Pebble's death occurred [clears throat] during the officers lawful performance of their duties and lawful efforts to defend themselves and take him into custody. Both of the officers acted with lawful intent upon provocation by Ple. Our determination is that the death of Brian Ple is an excusable homicide pursuant to Florida statute 782.03 and that the actions of officer Daniel Paveda and Tammy Craig were [snorts] lawful and proper under the circumstances. And that's also the determination of the state attorney and again a copy of his letter uh is being provided to you. So I'm happy to answer any questions that anybody has. I know Chief Holloway can take questions if you have any questions about St. Petersburg Police Department's policies or anything to do with the officers. So if you all have anything, we'll take your questions. >> Um I have uh two uh one for you, Sheriff, one for you, Chief. Um, is there anything sheriff that you take away from uh what happened during the arrest when it comes to the the prone position? Is there anything in your guys' policy where you look at once our handcuff there needs to be more of an immediate action there? Um, and then second, chief, uh, the call team that you guys have in St. Pete to take care of mental health calls, why were they not called? Um, is that still a thing? And if you can give us any more information on that. you know, you know, so as to what the officers did and as far as I'm concerned, they did everything 100% right and there's nothing when you're faced in that situation when you're violently attacked the way both of them were when he came out and swung and hit officer pda in the face, the fight's on and you're just going to do everything you can and anybody that's ever been in that situation, and we have, uh, it's you're just doing what you can to protect yourself and you get exhausted, fatigued, gassed very fast and they're putting them face down and they're just trying to control them. And one of the hardest things, and anybody's ever experienced it, unless you've experienced, you really can't appreciate it. One of the hardest things is when somebody is face down and they have their hands and their arm underneath them trying to pry that arm out. I've seen people weighed 70 pounds and people that are 250 pounds, you can't get their arm under out there. And when he was non-compliant with that, so they're just really trying to survive in that situation. And they're just trying to get him handcuffed. He was a big guy. They had to use double handcuffs. He was non-compliant. He was face down. They were watching him. You could see that they were looking and they were watching. And then when he moving his feet and they put his feet up. There's no way in the world. And they wouldn't be expected to to say, "Oh, well, let me try and control him by just crossing his legs, put his feet up, so he stops moving and somehow that's going to compress his diaphragm and because of his obesity and because of all these other things and all this perfect storm's going to come together and he's going to stop breathing." So, you know, no, they there there's nothing here that anybody could have or should have done differently. As far as I'm concerned, they did everything right and what they needed to do under the circumstances. And our call program is still going strong. Community assistant life liaison. Uh they wouldn't have been dispatched to this call just like the sheriff told you all the things he had threatened to kill someone, threatened to hurt someone. So, we would have sent officers to that. Uh, and you saw when he came out of house, he attacked the officers right away. So, our call program is still going strong. 97 97% of the calls that our navigators go on, they do not go with law enforcement, but they would have not have been been dispatched to a call like this, >> even knowing it was a mental health call. >> Mental health call, but he had threatened to hurt someone. So, we do not send civilians to those type of calls. >> Anybody have anything else? >> Sure. About 3 minutes into the video, you can see him face down on the pavement saying, "Help." >> Y >> when you watch that back, is there a reaction there? Is there any way you can help? >> No. I mean, again, they were trying to do everything they could do under those circumstances. You know, and you know, when the guy is, you know, they told him put his hands behind his back. What did he do? What' you see? He put his hand underneath them and you can't get it out. And again, they're exhausted and they're just trying to survive and make sure that they don't get hurt any more than they were already hurt. remember, you know, they're both bleeding. Craig's got a pretty good gash. She needed sutures. Uh the the taser and they're using taser tens and you know, with that the way the probes come out, you have to fire twice. Uh they didn't get good connection, if you will. One of them actually, and you'll see it in the letter, one of the probes actually hit officer Pavveda, so he was affected by the taser. Um it is a classic situation where the fight was on and they were in survival mode and just doing everything they could possibly do. Obviously, this wasn't the outcome they wanted. How are they doing? >> Nobody wanted that outcome. You know, it's unfortunate. Uh, you know, the outcome we would have wanted first is is that you got a guy that's got mental health issues. I mean, it's obvious when he comes out there and oh, the police are here and you know what he said and then when he, you know, struck officer PDA in the head. I mean, the guy, no question, had everything that he had been diagnosed with. He's got these mental health issues. None of us want that. The officers didn't want it. I don't want it. Chief Hawe doesn't. the community doesn't want it, but the officers had to defend themselves. And you know, when you're in a fight like that and it's a knockdown dragout and you're doing everything you can to survive, that's all they're trying to do. Like I said, they could have done worse. They could have shot him and been justified under those circumstances in doing it. So, I think they used um good training, uh good instincts, good judgment, tried to minimize because like I said, they could have done that, but they were but and all they wanted to do is get this guy secured and get him to a better place than where he was. But, you know, it just one of those unfortunate sometimes things happen. >> Sheriff, the body cam appears to show officer kicked something out of his hand at one point. Do you know what that was? What he had? you know. No, I don't. It wasn't, but it wasn't a weapon or anything. I'm not sure what it might have actually been. His body worn camera. I'm not sure. Uh because it fell off pretty quickly, but I I obviously I saw that on there, but whatever it is, it's not relevant to anything. It's not a weapon or anything that was material to the investig. >> No, no, no. He threatened her. He threatened a neighbor and she came out. This was an exchange on the back porch and he threatened to cut her head off and they had an exchange back and forth and uh she really retreated back into her home. So no, but there was no it was you know and and the the earlier event the first event that morning when I said it was early morning it started about 4:00 in the morning. So he had gone to his old neighborhood and that's where St. Pete police were called and they couldn't find him. And you know, again, his brother came over. His brother saw that he was in a bad bad state and bad situation. It's just a it's the way these things go when you have people that have in this case chronic mental health issues. >> And for Chief Holloway, now that this is a justifiable homicide, have the officers returned to duty? Are they medically able to do so? >> They have been medically cleared their return to duty, but we still have to go through our process of use of force. will be reviewed through the chain of command officer professional standards to make sure all the policies were in compliance. >> So I know I'm splitting hairs here but I just want to be clear because there is a difference as and very specifically and we had a lot of discussion about this under the law there's a different determination for justifiable use justifiable homicide as opposed to excusable and so you said you know just this is excusable and there is a difference okay so and it's because there was no intention here of doing anything I just want to make that I know it's you know, kind of in the weeds, but I just want to make sure we're clear on it as to what it is. So, >> given the injuries to the officer, uh, you guys said he got tased six times. Would it have even been, you touched on it already, would have been more appropriate for him to use deadly force, shoot him? >> I didn't say that. I I said that they would have been justified in it under those circumstances. When you get struck the way they both got struck, tossed around into a car with that amount of force that puts a dent in there is there's no question that they were in fear for their lives in great bodily harm under those circumstances and and legally it would have been justified. But, you know, like always, just because you can doesn't mean you should. And I they subscribe to that and they did the right thing. Um, I'm not suggesting they they should have, but I am saying is is that, you know, under these circumstances where it is excusable, we could be talking about a justified use of deadly force. But we're not talking about that because they used, you know, good training, good tactics, good techniques, did everything they could to really to minimize what they had to do. And they used the really the to say the minimal force necessary under those circumstances to protect themselves. And wouldn't it have been more appropriate for them to have more backup given the threats he was making before? >> No, I you know on a call like that it's to check the welfare. The sergeant got flagged down and said you know the guy's having a mental health issue, mental health crisis. Check the welfare. That's usually a two officer response call unless there's more indication of additional problems. I mean we run those every day all day. Uh that's a very common thing and that's a you know two officer response call. All right. Thanks everybody.