At 5:03 p.m. on Monday, August, 3, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) received a 911 hang up call from a home located at 533 Pope Street in Freeport. A deputy was dispatched and arrived approximately 5:25 p.m.
Shortly after arriving at the Pope Street residence, the responding deputy encountered Jeffrey Stuart Weekly, 39, in the woods located to the north of the house. During this encounter, Weekly was shot by the deputy and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Pursuant to standard operating procedures, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) was contacted to respond to the scene to conduct an investigation into the deputy involved in the shooting. FDLE will be the lead agency in the case. WCSO will also conduct an internal investigation into the shooting in conjunction with the FDLE investigation.
It was reported elsewhere that a member of Weekly’s family said that Weekly was unarmed. WCSO public information officer Mike Gurspan would neither confirm nor deny this assertion, saying that the FDLE’s report may take “a week to a few weeks.” Gurspan also declined to reveal the name of the deputy who shot Weekly.
Agencies assisting in this investigation are FDLE, the State Attorney’s Office of the 1st Judicial Circuit, and the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The deputy involved was placed on administrative leave as required by agency policy.