Sheriff’s officials said the 76-year-old called a veterans crisis hotline, refused to drop a gun and then fired as deputies tried to stop his wife from running toward him.
LAKELAND, FL — A 76-year-old Vietnam veteran was shot and killed Tuesday evening in Polk County after deputies responding to a suicide call said he fired at them outside his home on Socrum Loop Road West during a standoff that ended in seconds.
Authorities identified the man as Ronald Breese, a Lakeland area resident with no known criminal history and no prior Baker Act cases, according to Sheriff Grady Judd. The shooting began as a mental health crisis response and quickly turned into a deadly officer-involved case now under review by multiple agencies. No deputies were hurt. Breese’s wife was not injured. Investigators said the immediate questions are what drove Breese into crisis, how the confrontation escalated and whether the deputies’ use of force met policy and state law.
Judd said Breese called the Veterans Crisis Line earlier Tuesday and told counselors he had five guns in his home and planned to hurt himself. That report brought deputies to the 2900 block of Socrum Loop Road West near Lakeland. When they arrived, Judd said, they found Breese seated on the porch with a gun to his head. Deputies began talking with him and trying to calm him down rather than rushing him. Early information led them to believe his wife might still be inside the home, adding urgency to the call. At some point during the standoff, Judd said, Breese’s wife drove into the driveway and got out of her vehicle, moving toward her husband despite deputies’ commands to stop. One deputy broke away from the line, dropped a protective shield and tackled her to keep her from reaching him. “At that moment,” Judd said, Breese stood up and fired at least one shot at deputies. Four deputies opened fire almost immediately.
The sheriff’s office said three deputies fired handguns and a fourth fired a long rifle. Breese was struck and fell at the scene. Deputies then moved in and began rendering aid, but he was pronounced dead outside the home, the sheriff’s office said. Judd described Breese as a veteran who had served three tours in Vietnam. He also said preliminary interviews suggested Breese and his wife had been drinking earlier in the day. Investigators believe he had been drinking orange juice mixed with vodka, though that detail remained part of the early fact gathering Tuesday night. Judd also said detectives had heard that Breese may have been upset over a business deal, but he stressed that investigators had not yet established a firm motive. Those gaps remain central to the case. Detectives still had to sort out what Breese said before deputies arrived, what was said during the standoff, how far everyone was from each other when the shot was fired and whether any body camera or scene video captured the exchange clearly enough to settle disputed points.
The setting mattered because the case began as a welfare check, not a criminal arrest. Deputies were sent to intervene in what they believed was a suicide attempt involving a man armed with multiple firearms. According to the sheriff, Breese had no prior arrest history and no earlier involuntary mental health incidents known to the agency. That background gave deputies little warning of any past violence, though the presence of a firearm and a direct statement of self harm made the call dangerous from the start. The involvement of the Veterans Crisis Line also placed the episode at the intersection of law enforcement, mental health response and veteran services, even as the facts remained narrow and local. By late Tuesday, officials had not said whether Breese had made earlier threats toward anyone besides himself or whether deputies had been able to negotiate with him for an extended period before the shooting. They also had not said how many rounds were fired in all, how many struck Breese, or how long the encounter lasted from first contact to gunfire. Those details usually emerge later through scene reconstruction, medical findings and recorded evidence.
The investigation now moves into the standard review process used in fatal officer-involved shootings in Polk County. The 10th Judicial Circuit Officer Involved Deadly Incident Task Force is expected to conduct the independent criminal investigation. At the same time, the sheriff’s office will conduct its own internal review, the medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of death and the findings will be forwarded to the 10th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office for legal review. As of Tuesday night, no criminal charge was at issue against Breese because he died at the scene, and authorities had not announced the names of the four deputies who fired. Officials also had not said whether those deputies had been placed on leave, though such shootings are typically followed by administrative review. Investigators are also expected to interview Breese’s wife in more depth, collect the firearms from the home, examine shell casings and bullet paths and review all audio and video tied to the call. A fuller public briefing could come once detectives finish the first round of interviews and forensic work.
Neighbors and local veterans will likely watch closely as more information is released because the facts outlined Tuesday carry both the shock of a neighborhood gunfight and the sadness of a crisis call ending in death. The scene described by deputies was tense and intimate, centered on a front porch, a driveway and a wife trying to reach her husband as deputies tried to hold the line. Judd said the deputies were trying to de-escalate the moment before it turned. He said they believed they were protecting both themselves and Breese’s wife when the shooting started. That sequence is likely to be scrutinized in detail because it was the turning point of the encounter. For now, the public record remains limited to the sheriff’s preliminary account, which framed the shooting as a rapid response to an armed threat after deputies had already spent time trying to talk Breese down. Breese’s death leaves unanswered questions about his final hours, his state of mind and whether a different ending was possible once deputies reached the house.
As of Wednesday, April 8, the case remained under active investigation, with authorities expected to release more details after witness interviews, forensic testing and the state review process move forward. The next milestone is a more complete accounting from investigators about the shot deputies said Breese fired and the evidence collected at the scene.
Author note: Last updated April 8, 2026.