FDLE: No further action necessary on Dawson shooting investigation

State law enforcement officials looking at the June police shooting death of Javon Dawson have concluded that a "complete and thorough investigation was conducted and no additional action is necessary." The Florida Department of Law Enforcement report is here.

Gov. Charlie Crist had asked the agency to review State Attorney Bernie McCabe's investigation of the June shooting in St. Petersburg, which found that Officer Terrence Nemeth acted properly.

The seven-page FDLE report, released Monday morning, states that at least 12 police officers, along with up to 300 party guests, were in the area when Dawson was shot, but "of all witnesses interviews, no other persons besides Officer Nemeth witnessed the shooting of Javon Dawson," the report reads.

FDLE officials would not comment on how they could be certain that the shooting was justifiable if no one other than Nemeth claimed to have witnessed it.

"We are letting the report speak for itself," said Kristen Perezluha, a spokeswoman for the FDLE.

Dawson, a 17-year-old Gibbs High School student, was killed in June during a chaotic graduation party.

The report points to four witnesses, including Nemeth, who said they saw Dawson with a gun the day of the graduation party. Some of those statements were inconsistent.

FLDE reviewed 911 calls, crime scene video and photographs during the review, according to the report.

Nemeth told investigators he saw Dawson fire into the crowd leaving the party and ordered him to drop his gun. Dawson ran away, firing into the crowd again and aiming his weapon at Nemeth twice.

"Officer Nemeth stated that because he was in fear of being shot, he fired one shot at Dawson," according to the report. Dawson raised his weapon at Nemeth again, and Nemeth shot him a second time. Dawson threw his gun as he ran across a driveway and then fell onto the ground.

When other officers arrived to help Nemeth, he said, "there's the gun," and pointed to Dawson's firearm. "I shot him," Nemeth added, according to the report.

Dawson's gun was a five-shot revolver. The cylinder of the weapon contained three spent rounds and two empty cylinders. The hammer of the weapon was found on an empty cylinder indicating that the trigger was pulled after the last live round was fired.

FDLE analysis found a "trace amount" of gunshot residue on Dawson's clothing, which may "not be forensically significant," according to the report.

DNA samples from Dawson's gun could be linked to Dawson, but not to Nemeth, according to the report.

"No evidence was obtained to indicate that Officer Nemeth was untruthful in his description of events that led to Javon Dawson's death," the report concludes. "This review found no evidence to suggest that any relevant facts were overlooked or omitted from the reports created by the above listed entities."

St. Petersburg police Chief Charles "Chuck" Harmon declined to comment on the FDLE's report because of his department's ongoing investigation.   

Harmon "hopes to complete the department's administrative investigation and convene a Shooting Review Board in the next 30 days," said police spokesman Bill Proffitt in a statement released today.

-- Alex Leary and Cristina Silva, Times staff writers

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