A man who was fatally shot by an Altamonte Springs police officer earlier this week had a history of “erratic behavior,” Altamonte Springs Police Department Commander Evelyn Steenekamp said at a press conference Wednesday.
Eric Seckington, 65, was shot and killed at his home in the River Run community on Tuesday after being witnessed by a neighbor walking house-to-house with a rifle.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found Seckington concealed behind his fence with his rifle, Steenekamp said. She said Steenekamp officers made several attempts to engage with Seckington verbally and demanded that he drop his rifle, but he did not respond and instead perched his rifle on the fence.
Within minutes, an officer fired at Seckington.
“The way that he lifted the rifle up, it was almost as a readiness to fire the weapon, which prompted our officer to take action,” Steenekamp said at the press conference. She added that the officers’ prior knowledge regarding Seckington’s mental health, history with violence and conflicts with his neighbors all played a part in the officer’s decision.
In 2004, Seckington was arrested for holding a knife up to someone’s neck.
And, according to the police department, officers have responded to his address roughly 40 times in the past year. Calls included multiple attempts to connect him with mental health resources or to resolve conflicts he was having with others.
As recently as two weeks ago, specially trained officers, known as Community Engagement Officers, took him to receive care at a treatment center for adults needing emergency mental health, Steenekamp said. She told reporters the agency did not have enough time to coordinate for the community engagement officers to come out and speak with Seckington.
“He has suffered from mental issues before,” she said. “His erratic behavior has been ongoing in this neighborhood.”
According to the commander, officers were unaware that Seckington had acquired a weapon.
“Had we known that, there is an RPO [Risk Protection Order] process where we would confiscate those weapons through the Baker Act,” she said. Police would not confirm if the rifle had bullets or if the rifle was licensed to Seckington, who lived alone.
Investigators did not offer a motive for his actions. But on the day he was shot, a Seminole County judge ruled in favor of an injunction requested by a neighbor for protection against Seckington for stalking and trespassing.
“Within 10 minutes of the injunction being entered into local law enforcement databases, dispatch received a 911 call about Mr. Seckington going to multiple houses while carrying a rifle in a threatening manner,” a press release from the agency said. Police released details of that call.
Body camera footage of the incident was not released at the time of publishing. No officers were injured.
The officer who shot and killed Seckington was place on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, as is typical with officer-involved shootings. Steenekamp said the officer was hired in May 2022.
Steenekamp said it’s a goal for the agency to have every officer trained in crisis intervention.
Regarding the officer’s action, Steenekamp said: “In the 911 call that we shared with you all, you can understand the concern that the caller had not just for herself but for the neighbors in the community, and with the history that we had with Mr. Seckington, I think it was the appropriate action.”
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