The "Stand Your Ground" law has come into effect in Clearwater, Florida, in a case of a disputed parking spot turned deadly. The Tampa Bay Times reports that a confrontation between Michael Drejka, 47, and Markeis McGlockton, 28, took place in a convenience store parking lot. Both men were fighting over the same handicap space. Drejka apprehended McGlockton because his girlfriend Britany Jacobs appeared to lack a permit for her vehicle.
At this point the exchange turned physical, with McGlockton coming to the defence of his partner. Upon leaving the store he walked up to Drejka and pushed him to the ground. As the video clearly depicts, Drejka then produces a handgun discharges it in McGlockton's direction, who drags himself back into the store for assistance. Markeis McGlockton, a father to three young children, was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Department has ultimately decided not to press charges against Michael Drejka, whom they deemed acted within the bounds of Florida's self-defense law known universally as "Stand Your Ground." County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said, the shooting was "within the bookends of ‘stand your ground’ and within the bookends of force being justified."
Footage of the incident is available here. View at your own discretion.
