Leon County deputy pulls gun on man pumping gas, mistaking nozzle for weapon

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Leon County, FL - A viral body camera video circulating on social media shows a Leon County Sheriff's deputy aim his gun at a man who he thought was wielding a gun but actually was holding a gas nozzle.

The video shows the deputy on Aug. 7 pull into the parking lot of a Circle K. He hops out of his SUV, draws his gun, and yells at the man to show his hands. The man complies and puts his hands behind his back.

"What are you doing?" the deputy asks after approaching.

"I'm filling up gas cans," the man answered.

"You understand you're holding it like this, like it's a pistol, right?" the deputy said, demonstrating with his hands.

The man, confused, explained that he was just waving his hand to get the cashier's attention to turn the gas pump on. The deputy said that's not what it looked like to those driving by on the road, and requested the man's driver's license.

Viral body camera footage shows a Leon County Sheriff's deputy pull a gun on a man while pumping gas at a Circle K.
As the deputy walked away to check his ID, the man started yelling to the other customers: "Did you see this man just pull a gun on me because I held up the [expletive] gas pump?"

"You know I'm going to get a lawsuit on you," the man said to the deputy.

The deputy continued to defend himself, saying it looked like he was holding a gun and that he didn't see the cord that connects the nozzle to the pump.

"Yeah, you saw what you wanted to see," the man said. "You saw a mother [expletive] with tattoos ... you saw what you wanted to see, you profiling mother [expletive]."

LCSO provided a statement to the Tallahassee Democrat saying it's aware of the video.

"While no one was injured during the incident, LCSO would like to assure the public that we review any incidents of concern to evaluate opportunities for training or additional action," the statement says.

The Democrat also requested an incident report, but that request is pending. The agency also did not release the location of the Circle K where the incident unfolded.

Toward the end of the 10-minute video, the deputy is seen talking to a Circle K cashier inside the convenience store. She said the man and his wife come to the gas station every day and are very respectful.

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't getting held up or something," the deputy said to the cashier. "That's all it was."

"I get crazy people through here, so I'm glad you all are alert," she said.

As the deputy returns to his SUV, he asked the man to come talk to him, and the man refused.

"You know what you did, and you know you're dead [expletive] wrong," the man said. "You know I didn't have no [expletive] gun."