A Central Florida deputy-involved shooting is under investigation.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office was on the scene of a deputy-involved shooting earlier this month after the local 911 center received a call about a dispute between neighbors at an apartment complex at Camden Street in Tampa.
The caller claimed his neighbor assaulted him. When HCSO deputies arrived, they made contact with 47-year-old Jason Douglas Paul, who made the 911 call. Paul was acting erratically and threatening to kill his neighbor.
As deputies tried to de-escalate the situation, Paul continued making threats to kill his neighbor and, therefore, our deputies decided to Baker Act Paul. He then entered his home and refused to come out.
Local deputies continued to ask Paul to come outside. Through a window, deputies saw the suspect holding a knife and started to hear an adult female screaming. At this time, Paul took the female at knifepoint into a back bedroom.
Fearing for her safety, deputies quickly broke through a window and entered the home.
Deputies went to the back bedroom and ordered Paul to put the knife down multiple times. Paul refused to drop the knife, and 30-year-old Deputy John Howes discharged his firearm and struck Paul, according to local law enforcement.
Deputies rendered aid to Paul until EMS arrived and transported him to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
“Our deputies sprang to action when confronted with a situation where someone’s life was in immediate danger,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “Our deputies are trained to protect innocent lives, and that’s what they did.”
Howes has no prior use of force with HCSO. He has been with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office since February 2024.
Paul’s criminal history includes Aggravated Battery With a Deadly Weapon and Resisting an Officer Without Violence in 2005. He also was arrested for DUI in 1999.
FDLE is handling the investigation.
