Florida Police Officer Barricades Himself, Fires Shots At Cops During Standoff; Arrested

A Florida police officer was arrested following an hours-long standoff with the Brevard County Sheriff's officers after he threatened a woman and barricaded himself inside a house.

Deputies were called to a residence on Framura Lane in Viera at about 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 27 after a woman called the sheriff's office and told them Patrick Michael Kelly, 39, who worked with the Cocoa police department, threatened her with a firearm and was "experiencing an emotional crisis," WESH reported.

The woman, whose name was not revealed, was Kelly's fiancée and also a Cocoa police officer, as per the Space Coast Rocket blog.

After she managed to flee the residence where Kelly barricaded himself following a domestic violence incident, she told deputies Kelly was armed and threatened to harm any responding officer.

Upon reaching the scene, the Brevard County sheriff's office SWAT Team negotiated with Kelly to exit the residence and surrender without further incident. Amid the standoff that went on for about four hours, Kelly fired multiple rounds from the residence at the officers.

No one was injured in the crossfire between Kelly and officers, cops confirmed, according to WFTV. Kelly was eventually taken into custody and transported to the Brevard County Jail. He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Kelly, who was off-duty at the time of the incident, was suspended without pay by the Cocoa Police Department.

Responding to the incident, local residents said they heard around 20-30 shots over the period. "Heard maybe around 20 to 30 (shots) over a period of time," a neighbor said, as per WESH.

"Thank goodness he was not injured, himself in this situation or anyone else for that matter. I mean flying bullets. Anything's possible," another neighbor Joann Chiera said.

A statement issued by Cocoa Police Department chief Evander Collier IV revealed that Kelly, who has been with the department since October 2007, was previously arrested back in 2017 for felony domestic violence battery. He had an argument with his then-girlfriend at her Merritt Island residence. During the investigation, Kelly told deputies that he had grabbed the woman by her neck and choked her, Florida Today reported. However, after those charges were dropped, Kelly was permitted to retain his position in the department.

"Cocoa Police Officers are held to the highest levels of professional and moral conduct and Officer Kelly's actions do not represent the men and women of this agency who take pride in their job every day to protect and serve our community," the police department chief added in the statement.