Driver who killed trooper on I-95 was ‘irate’ about tow truck payment, witnesses say
The flag flew at half staff outside Florida Highway Patrol headquarters in Fort Pierce on Thursday, and mourners left balloons at the gate to remember Joseph Bullock, the trooper who was shot and killed on I-95 after he stopped to help a stranded driver.
On the highway, troopers held an American flag at mile marker 107 in Martin County — the somber spot where Bullock was killed.
The gunman — identified by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office as 28-year-old Franklin Reed III of Palm Bay — also was killed. He was shot dead by a passing police officer from Riviera Beach, a suburb of West Palm Beach.
Law enforcement agencies investigating the shooting have not said what happened Wednesday morning on Interstate 95 near Palm City. But witnesses say it began when the stranded driver got into an argument with a tow truck driver, according to local media.
The truck driver who was called to help with the stranded vehicle told witnesses the driver was “irate” at having to pay for a tow, according to WPTV in West Palm Beach. Reed then apparently pulled a gun. His gun reportedly jammed, giving the tow truck driver time to escape.
“There were six shots,” witness Randy Pitino told WFLX. “I heard gunfire first, and then I saw gunfire back from the Riviera Beach officer.”
Firefighter-paramedic DeWayne Watson, spokesman for the Riviera Beach fire department, was on his way home to Port St. Lucie when he came across the chaos. When he saw Bullock lying on the ground, he pulled over, grabbed his medical bag and ran across the lanes to him, according to the Palm Beach Post.
“I was 10 to 20 yards away when gunfire erupted,” he told the Post. “I can’t say who was shooting who. I just saw people ducking behind cars.”
He told the Post he could tell Bullock’s wounds were fatal but didn’t say where he was shot. It was also the first time Watson, who has worked for 20 years in Riviera Beach, says he saw an officer who was killed.
The off-duty Riviera Beach officer who shot Reed was later identified as Jemel Headings. The officer, who has worked for the department since April 2010, has been placed on administrative leave, as is protocol, when there is an officer-involved shooting, said a spokeswoman for Riviera Beach police.
Reed’s family has expressed condolences to Bullock’s family but says they want to see dash cam video to understand what led up to the shooting, according to the New York Times.
Reed was a college graduate, a former high school football player and was on his way to work in Martin County when his car broke down, the family told CBS12. His family says he owned a gun and had a legal conceal-carry permit.
Other than a few traffic infractions, Reed has no criminal history, according to documents reviewed by the Miami Herald.
“He’s being portrayed as this monster, you know who’s just on the rage to kill people, to kill officers,” Kamara Jenkins, Reed’s aunt, told the station Thursday. “No. That’s not our Franklin.”
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating Reed’s death, while Martin County is investigating the shooting of Trooper Bullock, said Gretl Plessinger, FDLE spokeswoman.
Christine Weiss, public information officer with the Martin sheriff’s office, said the investigation is still in its beginning stages.
“Over the next few days, our criminal investigations detectives will continue to work closely with the State Attorney’s Office as they question witnesses and begin the process of seeking and conducting search warrants on the vehicles involved in this homicide, including Trooper Bullock’s patrol car and Reed’s SUV,” Weiss said in a statement. “This is still an active investigation, and there is much work to be done.”
The interstate was shut down in both directions for hours Wednesday as investigators worked to piece together a timeline of events, which began around 10:30 a.m. Bullock, who loved his job based on his Facebook posts, is survived by his parents and two sisters.
The 42-year-old trooper had worked with the agencies Troop L — Fort Pierce division for nearly 19 years and was a U.S. Air Force veteran.
The mourning spread from FHP headquarters to social media. The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Administration, which oversees the highway patrol, updated its Facebook profile picture to a trooper’s badge surrounded by a black band with a blue stripe shortly after Bullock’s death.
Bullock was the 49th Florida trooper to die in the line of duty since the agency was founded 80 years ago, according to The Associated Press. He’s also the first law enforcement officer to be killed in the line of duty in Martin County, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
“Joe was one of those troopers who went out every day and did his job quietly and proudly,” said FHP Col. Gene Spaulding.
On Friday morning, Bullock’s casket was taken with a police escort to Sarasota from St. Lucie County along highway 70. People who wanted to honor the trooper lined up along the highway.
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 4:04 PM.
