Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force Video Release
The Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force is still
actively investigating the incident that occurred on April 1st that began with
a traffic stop at 1:29 a.m. and ended with several deputies firing their
weapons about 35 minutes later. This is still an ongoing investigation, but to
honor our commitment to transparency, we are releasing portions of the body
and dash cameras.
Due to the large number of body and dashboard camera videos involved, we
edited a compilation of several videos to show a timeline of what led up to
the shots fired.
Updated Summary of April 1st Incident
At 1:29 a.m., at 113th Street North and Park Blvd., a Pinellas Deputy
attempted a traffic stop on a red Toyota hatchback for running a red light.
The driver, Marina DeFilippo, DOB 8-8-59, had a brief verbal exchange with the
deputy, then drove away. She eventually turned onto Gulf Blvd.
Indian Shores Police then initiated a felony traffic stop on Gulf Blvd. at
177th Avenue West and they saw her with a gun in her hand. She ignored
commands to stop and did a U-turn and headed northbound on Gulf Blvd.
Near 20254 Gulf Blvd, Pinellas Deputies used their MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush
Protected) vehicle to perform a pit maneuver that spun the Toyota around.
DeFilippo continued to drive towards a Deputy standing behind his open patrol
car door. Several deputies fired shots in an attempt to stop her.
After hitting the patrol car door and injuring the Deputy, DeFilippo continued
driving away as deputies fired their weapons. She crashed head on into another
patrol car, finally coming to a stop.
DeFilippo suffered three non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and was
transported to the hospital.
———————————————————————————–
In 2020, the Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Task Force was
created to ensure the investigations conducted into law enforcement use of
deadly force are thorough, complete, and objective. The purpose of this task
force is to make sure that law enforcement officer-involved shootings in
Pinellas County are investigated by an independent agency and not by the
agency involved in the use of deadly force.
