Jason Turk, 37, a Navy veteran and UT senior double majoring in government and world affairs and philosophy, filed a lawsuit on Aug. 12 against the city of Tampa and Officer Timothy Bergman. Turk was shot twice in the face in the driveway of his home on Peninsular Street where police found Turk sitting in his car after they responded to a call about a potential suicide. Due to the fact that the lawsuit is still pending, Turk has been advised by his attorney not to comment.
The lawsuit claims that the police neglected to send officers who had received proper crisis intervention training. The suit also accuses Officer Bergman of using excessive force to handle the situation.
“Members of TPD approach[ed] his vehicle and rather than treat him as a mentally distressed individual who has committed no crimes while possessing a firearm he is licensed to have, instead engag[ed] him as if he is a criminal in possession of the firearm,” the lawsuit filed by Jason Turk stated.
The incident occurred after midnight on Jan. 9. Amanda Turk, Jason’s estranged wife, called the Tampa Police Department to express concern about her husband’s immediate safety, stating he was possibly suicidal, according to a letter from the State Attorney’s Office.
Earlier in the evening, over a phone call, Turk had reportedly told her that he couldn’t live anymore and was constructing a suicide note. He sent her a three minute video of himself reading her the note, which prompted the phone call. According to the State Attorney’s Office letter, she heard him open his gun safe and load a handgun during their phone conversation.
His wife told the emergency operator handling the call that Jason didn’t have the nerve to pull the trigger, but believed that if police arrived and he refused to drop his gun, it might not end well.
Upon arrival, Bergman found Turk sitting in a black BMW and as he approached the vehicle, he noticed Turk armed with a black handgun, according to the State Attorney disposition.
The disposition describes that loud verbal commands were made for Turk to put his gun down but stated that he did not comply. It also states that Turk refused negotiations and on two separate occasions pointed his gun at officers. The officer fearing for his life and fired two shots, one of which hit Turk in the face, according to the disposition.
On the other hand, the lawsuit filed by Turk states that he had never lost consciousness and could hear the officers asking one another if any of them had actually seen a gun. Turk claims in the suit that all of the officers on scene confirmed they had seen no other gun besides the one in the hands of Bergman.
Liv Coleman, UT government and world affairs professor, had Turk in a few of her classes. After hearing the news, she wrote a letter to Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, in attempts to raise awareness about the training she believes the police department requires.
“Police are in a difficult position themselves because they are first responders in communities that don’t provide enough mental health care services to meet psychiatric needs,” Coleman said. “Police departments can play their role by providing better crisis intervention training to their officers to respond to mental health crises. Properly trained officers will then be able to play a facilitating role in their communities, de-escalating crises and connecting people in distress to the health services they need.”
Turk’s lawsuit claims his fourth amendment rights were violated and that Amanda Turk had never said Jason planned to use the police to facilitate suicide.
The lawsuit states that Amanda told law enforcement “he has expressed in the past that he doesn’t have the nerve to kill himself but he [knew] if cops [came] and he [wouldn’t] put the gun down they [would] shoot him.” She declared she doesn’t know if that’s the case, but she felt the need to say it. He told police if he was a danger to anyone that night, it was only himself.
The lawsuit also claims that four minutes after officers arrived on the scene, Bergman opened fire.
The family claims that given that amount of time, Bergman would not have been able to properly assess the situation.
The Minaret was not able to get a hold of the Tampa Police Department for comments regarding the case after multiple phone calls and emails.
“That kind of warning, I would have hoped, had a different response. Maybe sending multiple officers, sending a more trained person, maybe sending a police psychologist, but who knows? It’s so fast,” said UT psychology professor Joseph Sclafani. “Ideally, if the officer can buy time and get a professional there, it’s possible nobody could get hurt.”
The case was evaluated by the State Attorney’s Office, which found the act of using a deadly firearm to be justified. The captain of the Special Operations Bureau, Eli Vasquez, found Officer Bergman’s acts were justified and did not violate any department policies. The State Attorney General did not file any charges against Turk.
The Minaret made multiple attempts to get in touch with Turk’s attorney, Michael Maddux, but he made no comment.
Brianna Kwasnik can be reached at brianna.kwasnik@spartans.ut.edu