CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said the man deputies shot and killed in Punta Gorda on Jan. 16, had been writing threatening messages on the walls of his home.
On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office released body camera footage that shows the moments deputies approached, shot and killed 53-year-old Michael Schwartz on Eager Road in Punta Gorda.
Sheriff Bill Prummell said deputies received two calls from neighbors in the area, saying Schwartz was acting “erratically”, waving a gun in the air, pointing it at a neighbor and firing the gun in the air.
Sheriff Prummell said when deputies got to the area, they developed a plan to use a patrol vehicle as rolling cover to approach Schwartz’s home.
“He was seated on the front porch of the house,” said Sheriff Prummell. “When he saw the deputies he immediately stood up and he took a handgun that was on a table next to him and he pointed it at the deputies.”
When Schwartz pointed the gun at deputies, they dove for cover before firing at Schwartz, Sheriff Prummell said. According to the sheriff’s office, deputies fired a total of five times, hitting Schwartz three times. He died at the scene.
The sheriff’s office said the subsequent investigation found dozens of prescription medications for a variety of mental illnesses inside Schwartz’s house.
“We had found that there were 68 different types of medications prescribed, that are usually prescribed for these conditions from eight different medical providers,” said Sheriff Prummell. He said that investigators are looking into why he was prescribed so many medications.
“We have a lot of subpoenas out right now, so we are trying to find out what's going on, why he had so many physicians with so many medications,” said Sheriff Prummell. “You would think the database would have caught that so we’re not really sure what happened there.”
Additionally, investigators say they found Schwartz had been writing on the walls of his home in crayon and colored pencils. Sheriff Prummell said some of the writings were threats, one was toward a ‘Deputy Anderson’ who the Sheriff said had interacted with Schwartz in November.
“He reported a fraud to us, and at that time one of my deputies, Deputy Anderson, responded to the fraud,” said Sheriff Prummell.
Sheriff Prummell explained that the fraud report was unfounded, but Schwartz called again to report the fraud just four days before the shooting.
Schwartz did have a criminal history of aggravated assault, which was pled down to a misdemeanor offense, Sheriff Prummell said. He also said a risk protection order placed against Schwartz had expired, and he was allowed to possess a firearm.
According to Sheriff Prummell, investigators are unsure if Schwartz was experiencing a manic episode, but said there are some indications Schwartz committed suicide by cop.
