Rickey Beaty lives on an idyllic Bokeelia street heavily pedaled by cyclists.
On Thursday afternoon, the quiet peace was interrupted by sirens as Lee County deputies raced to Beaty's home in the 16000 block of Aura Lane.
At 1:33 p.m., Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno said, a deputy arrived at Beaty’s 2-story home for a public assistance call and spoke with a man, who would later be identified by a relative as Beaty.
“Shortly after speaking to that suspect, he began to attack our deputy with a knife, subsequently stabbing our deputy,” Marceno said.
The deputy, who feared for his life, discharged his firearm striking the suspect, Marceno said. The deputy was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Beaty was transported to the hospital and his injuries were unknown as of Thursday evening. Marceno declined to take any questions because it’s an open investigation.
More: Lee County Sheriff's Office identifies man killed in officer-involved shooting Saturday
The sheriff’s office did not identify 59-year-old Beaty, but his older brother, David Beaty did.
“He’s not a violent person,” David Beaty, 61, said when reached by phone. “I don’t understand why he was shot or if they needed to put him under control, I think they would have Tased him or something.”
David Beaty said his younger brother was transported to Lee Memorial and from there he was flown to Tampa General Hospital. A Tampa General Hospital spokesman said he could not confirm whether Beaty was a patient there.
David Beaty said his brother was living in the Aura Lane home with one of his sons after a recent divorce. Records show his wife filed for a dissolution of marriage March 10 of last year.
“They’ve been having a little difficulty out there,” David Beaty said. “I go out there every now and then.”
Donald Tanner, 80, said he was shocked by what happened.
He and a group of people were outside working on his boat when the incident happened. He said he didn’t hear the sound of gunfire, but others around him did.
“I didn’t think nothing of anything until I saw the sheriff flying down the road,” Tanner said.
Tanner said he is friends with Beaty and he’s never known to be violent.
“I’ve only seen the good side,” Tanner said. “Walking down the road and says what’s good.”
And, he added, there’s never this much police activity on his quiet street.
“Garbage days are the most exciting thing we have around here,” Tanner said. “Now we’ve got all the excitement we need.”
This is at least the second-officer involved shooting this year by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. In January, 57-year-old Guillermo Mendoza was killed by a deputy during a domestic disturbance in San Carlos Park. That case is still open.