A 2017 case is making headlines again after officials confirmed that Ashad Russell, the bystander who shot and killed a man attacking a Florida sheriff’s deputy, will not face criminal charges. The State Attorney’s Office ruled that Russell acted lawfully when he intervened to save Deputy Dean Bardes on Interstate 75.
Edward Strother, 53, had been stopped for speeding when he allegedly began punching and pinning Deputy Bardes to the ground. Russell, 35, who had a concealed weapons permit, witnessed the attack and stepped in. When Bardes saw that Russell was armed, he ordered him to shoot.
Despite multiple warnings for Strother to stop, Russell fired three shots into Strother’s neck, killing him. The sheriff later praised Russell’s actions, and investigators concluded he was justified in using deadly force to prevent serious harm or death to the deputy.
However, not everyone agreed with the outcome. Louis Strother, the attacker’s brother, questioned the decision, saying, “They’re calling him a good Samaritan? Did my brother have a gun?”
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