"This is a person who was suicidal, he wanted to kill himself and he decided to have a deputy do it," BSO spokeswoman Dani Moschella told a TV news station shortly after the death of James M. "Matt" Perdue, who was 42.
But behind every police shooting, there is a story: why was the person there? What was he trying to do? And, most terrible of all, did the cops need to shoot him? BSO is still conducting an internal investigation into the incident, which involved two deputies shooting Perdue at the intersection of A1A and Evans Street in Hollywood on Sunday. Little information is trickling out at this point.
But while the authorities review their case, Perdue's family is left to wonder what went wrong, and mourn a
man who appears to have been a loving family member. Several people have left comments on our previous post about the incident, saying they are family and that the Matt Perdue they knew was not a man who should ever have been in the line of fire.
"My uncle was a good man and a wonderful father to his children," says one commenter who identifies himself as "PO'D."
Another comment provides a concise, tragic view of what may have been Perdue's downfall: "Matt was a good guy just got on the pain pills & lost everything," writes commenter Richard Ahlquist.
"This man was my cousins husband. I always remember him as a cool
tempered great guy. Certainly the failing economy, lack of work to
support your family, other issues combined with any drug or alcohol use
or abuse to ease the pain could cause someone to say they want to harm
themself," writes commenter LLC.
Last night, the commenter "PO'D" posted a set of photographs showing Perdue as a contented family man:
If you knew Matt, please contact us directly by clicking here or call writer Stefan Kamph at 954-233-1573.
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