Suspect in I-75 shootout identified as Miami resident

A man who was killed in a shootout with police on Interstate 75 has been identified as 59-year-old Miami resident Earl Jackson, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reported.

Kevin Maurice Bland, a former colleague of Jackson, said the two men worked together as law enforcement officers in Miami-Dade for over a decade.

“I am a retired officer from Miami-Dade County,” Bland told The Gainesville Sun. “The man who allegedly had a shootout with police was my sergeant for over 15 years and was a very calm person. We were required to have a certain amount of fire arms training during our tenure and he was very good with a gun. I am sure if he wanted to shoot the trooper he could have.”

Jackson’s friends said he had been working as a corrections officer in South Florida while struggling with mental health issues.

The shootout was the culmination of a massive search that began 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Officers from multiple agencies found Jackson around 1 p.m., which is when the shootout started.

Jackson died near the highway. It is not clear whether Jackson was shot by officers or shot himself.

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 9:15 AM with the headline "Suspect in I-75 shootout identified as Miami resident."