It's been several days since an Immokalee man was fatally shot by a Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputy. The community is seeking more information about the events leading up to his death.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 17, CCSO deputies responded to a call made by a Farm Workers Village community resident saying a man was banging on the door of her home.
In audio of the 911 call released by the sheriff’s office, the caller says the man was holding a shovel. The caller reports on the recording that deputies arrived on scene, and less than 30 seconds later, four gunshots are heard.
According to a statement released by CCSO, 37-year-old Nicholas Morales-Bessannia charged toward deputies while holding the shovel, prompting one deputy to shoot.
CCSO later updated their statement to say Morales-Bessannia held the shovel and a sharp edged weapon when he approached the deputies.
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a nonprofit organization that helps to support farmworkers, organized a vigil for Morales-Bessannia last Friday. Organizers said Morales-Bessannia had been active with the organization for years.
At the vigil, Miguel Estrada, who said he has worked with the Presbyterian mission in Immokalee for 14 years, said the community is having a hard time accepting the sheriff’s office’s claims regarding the shooting.
“The problem is that it sounds like the details on their report, the official report that they submitted, doesn’t match with what some of the witnesses around this community are telling about it,” Estrada said. “And even if [the CCSO report] is the case, when you hear the call, the 911 recording, things happen just too soon. If I remember well, it's 23 seconds after [CCSO deputies] arrived, you hear the shooting.”
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers released a statement demanding for the sheriff’s office to release all the information they have regarding the shooting.
CCSO said it is conducting a criminal investigation into the shooting. CCSO deputies do not wear bodycams. The deputy who fired the fatal shots has been placed on administrative leave, per agency policy.
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