TAMPA — A Tampa Police officer was wounded early Monday morning when he was shot while serving a warrant.
Richard Lehr, who has been with the Tampa Police Department since June 2008, is conscious and hospitalized in stable condition, according to a TPD news release.
According to police, the officer was serving an undetermined arrest warrant to Walter Richard Jeziorski at his home at Hubert Avenue Villa Apartments, in the 4605 block of W Hubert Avenue, around 2:40 a.m. when the suspect opened fire.
Another TPD officer, Leigh Smith — a member of the force since June 2014 — also returned fire.
Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said the suspect’s mother told her son to put down his weapon and give up, but surrendered minutes later.
During a news conference early Monday, Dugan pointed to “mental health issues,” and Monday’s shooting was “another example of what our officers deal with every day.”
It is unclear whether he Lehr was shot more than once.
Jeziorski, who has several previous arrests on charges including battery and domestic violence, was taken into custody, police said.
