Following an extensive review, our office has concluded that there is no legal basis to file charges against either of the two Tampa Police Department officers who fatally shot 26-year-old Dominique Mulkey on October 20, 2020. As detailed below, the officers shot Mulkey after he pointed a gun at them as they approached him in connection with an armed robbery of a Dollar General store.
While the event itself unfolded in merely seconds, our team conducted an extensive and exhaustive review of all available evidence and applicable legal standards. These steps included but were not limited to:
- responding to the scene following the shooting
- reviewing interviews of law enforcement and civilian witnesses
- examining physical evidence
- reviewing video evidence
- reviewing photographic evidence
- reviewing 911 calls, radio communications, and relevant audio
- analyzing autopsy results
- reviewing forensic reports
- applying the applicable laws
Independent FDLE investigators conducted the investigation, and State Attorney Warren and a senior Assistant State Attorney responded to the scene. FDLE investigators found that on October 20, 2020 at approximately 9:20 a.m. employees of the Dollar General located at 3110 N. 50th Street called 911 and reported an armed robbery. They described the suspect as a Black male wearing an orange shirt and carrying a revolver. As the two Tampa Police officers who responded to this 911 call were driving on 50th Street, they saw a person less than 1,000 feet away from the Dollar General carrying a large black plastic bag and wearing clothes that matched the armed robber’s description. The uniformed patrol officers stopped and exited their marked patrol vehicles within eyesight of the suspect who was later identified as Dominique Mulkey.
One of the officers was wearing a Tampa Police Department issued body-worn camera, which shows what took place after he exited his patrol car. As they approached Mulkey, both officers drew their 9 mm handguns. Mulkey was holding a black garbage bag full of items. For at least 11 seconds, the officers repeatedly shouted commands, including “Tampa Police—get on the ground!” and “Get on the ground—show me your hands!” Mulkey ignored these commands and continued to walk down 50th Street, away from the officers.
Mulkey then let go of the black bag, reached into his waistband, and pulled out a black handgun with his left hand. After Mulkey drew his gun, the officers shouted more commands, yelling “Drop the gun!” several times. Instead of dropping the gun, Mulkey—who had been walking away—turned around completely to face the officers and raised his left hand from his waist up to chest height, pointing the gun in the direction of the officers. In response, both officers fired their weapons while continuing to command Mulkey to drop the gun. Mulkey was shot and fell to the ground, after which the officers stopped firing and approached Mulkey to render aid. They immediately recovered the loaded gun under Mulkey’s body.
Over the span of 15 seconds, the two officers fired a total of 42 rounds—33 by one officer, and nine by the other. Both officers used 9 mm handguns and 40 9 mm shell casings were recovered at the scene. Mulkey had an Armscor .38 Special six-shot revolver, which was fully loaded with six bullets and was later identified as having been reported stolen out of Cape Coral, Florida in 2013.
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on Mulkey. The autopsy determined two bullets had likely entered Mulkey’s body, one in the head, and another that passed through two parts of his body, creating wounds in both the left elbow and left torso. The autopsy also located a bullet graze wound on the right bicep. The Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head and torso.
Additionally, State Attorney Warren, our leadership team, and senior Assistant State Attorneys received a detailed presentation about the incident from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, during which our office raised numerous questions and challenged some of the investigative details in order to fully and objectively evaluate the applicable facts and law.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed that the two Tampa police officers involved in the October 20, 2020 situation do not have any previous incidents involving the use of deadly force in their careers. Their names are being withheld due to Marsy’s Law, as they are the victims of an aggravated assault by Mulkey.
Recent public statements from Mulkey’s family members, who were not witnesses to the October 20, 2020 incident, shared many details of his difficult childhood, including time in the foster care system, as well as his ongoing challenges with mental health issues. The family members’ statements shine an important light on significant challenges we face in our community related to social services and mental health support, both which are critically underfunded and overextended. That is a necessary and valuable conversation our elected officials, law enforcement, and citizens must have.
While the statements from family members provide valuable facts that may explain Mulkey’s life prior to his encounter with Tampa Police on October 20, 2020, under the law, this information is not relevant to the legal determination. Moreover, none of this information was known to the two patrol officers who encountered Mulkey on the morning of the armed robbery at the Dollar General store. The officers rightfully perceived an imminent deadly threat and responded. Nevertheless, understanding Mulkey’s background is a critical first step to learning how our community can better provide social services and hopefully avoid situations that jeopardize the safety of civilians and law enforcement.
“Every life is precious, which is why we must uphold the highest standard when deadly force is used. This situation is tragic, but the law is clear—when an officer or anyone else has a gun pointed at them, they are allowed to defend themselves; here, they had no other choice,” Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said.
Florida law is clear that anyone—police officer or civilian—can legally use deadly force when put in fear of imminent death or great bodily harm. We have determined the facts and evidence of this incident prove the two law enforcement officers reasonably believed they were in fear of imminent death or great bodily harm when they used deadly force. In addition, the law does not impose on any civilian or police officer faced with this situation a duty to retreat. These findings satisfy Florida Statutes 776.012 and 776.05 and, therefore, under Florida law, the use of deadly force is justified. Accordingly, there is no legal basis for criminal charges against either of the officers.
The Tampa Police Department has previously made 911 audio, surveillance video, and a portion of the body-worn camera video available at this link. An initial release of materials related to this case from the State Attorney’s Office—containing forensic reports, crime scene photos, and a longer stabilized version of the body-worn camera video—is available at this link. These items illustrate the crime scene and key details of the case. Further documents related to the case, including additional photos, reports, and interview transcripts, are available to any member of the public subject to Florida’s Public Records Law; find details on making a request on the State Attorney’s Office Public Records page.