FL - Ricky Whidden, 46, fatally shot by LE, Loxahatchee, 31 Dec 2016

A Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into a deputy-involved shooting is complete.

Now it's up to the Palm Beach County State Attorney to decide whether to file criminal charges.

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The State Attorney told Contact 5, there is no timetable for when he will make a decision on whether to file criminal charges or clear the deputy.

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Since he joined PBSO in 2006, the Sheriff's Office has investigated Deputy Justin Rigney more than 50 times for use of force.

But that's not uncommon for K9 officers, according to law enforcement sources.

Most of the incidents reviewed involve the use of Rigney's K9 when arresting a suspect. In all cases, the use of force was found to be "justified, necessary and reasonable."

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When deputies approached Whidden in an attempt to take him into custody, PBSO says he jumped up and lunged at the deputies.

Deputy Justin Rigney then discharged his firearm, according to a PBSO spokesperson.

But the lawsuit claims surveillance footage from a neighbor’s house "makes clear that no negotiation occurred nor were commands given to Whidden, particularly before the firing of any weapons."

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Kaplan also claims that when Whidden lay bleeding on the ground, Rigney then turned his police dog loose on him.

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Justin Rigney, a 10-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office and K-9 handler for seven years, alleges in the lawsuit filed this month in Palm Beach County Circuit Court that the dogs were malnourished and kept in an “emaciated state.”

The Sheriff’s Office conducted an internal review and determined insufficient evidence existed to verify the allegations, and no further investigation was needed, according to a memo written by Capt. John L. Prieschl on July 17.

Rigney is also at the center of a wrongful death lawsuit filed against him and the department earlier this month, alleging he used excessive force when he shot Ricky Whidden, a 46-year-old with schizophrenia, on Dec. 31 in Loxahatchee.

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A Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy won’t face criminal charges for fatally shooting a mentally ill man whose parents summoned officers to their Loxahatchee home in December to stop their 46-year-old son from killing himself, the county’s top prosecutor has decided...

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg ruled Deputy Justin Rigney was justified when he shot Ricky Whidden four times. When Whidden charged at Rigney with a knife, the 10-year deputy was understandably in fear of his life and had no choice but to fire his service weapon, Aronberg wrote.

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