With the shooter dead and Deputy Paul Phillips recuperating from multiple gunshot wounds after responding to a disturbance near Indialantic, Sheriff Wayne Ivey minced no words in a broadcast meant to deter anyone else who might mean his officers harm.
“If you point a gun at one of my deputies, you just Mapquested yourself to one of three locations,” Ivey said. “The hospital, the morgue or, if you’re lucky, the hospital and then jail.”
The call for service that landed Phillips in the hospital with three bullets in his body, two broken legs and a torn-up shoulder is proof that anytime law enforcement officers put on the uniform and interact with the public, even the most seemingly benign or bizarre situations can and do escalate.
This disturbance started as a disagreement between neighbors about the feeding of feral cats and ended in 45-year-old Erik Gebauer exchanging heavy gunfire with Phillips, Phillips leaving in an ambulance and Gebauer being pronounced dead at the scene. Officials described Gebauer as heavily armed and there was chatter on the police scanner that Gebauer may have been using an assault-style or automatic rifle.
Fortunately, Phillips is expected to make a full recovery, but lives were changed that night in a neighborhood in unincorporated South Brevard County just north of Indialantic – a neighborhood not far from Indialantic Elementary and Hoover Middle School that for years has been plagued with drugs, crime and, on nights like June 4, with violence.
At 8:30 p.m. last Tuesday, Deputy Phillips responded to a disturbance call on Avenida De La Vista from a resident who said they felt threatened by a neighbor.
While speaking to the complainant, Phillips noticed the neighbor – Gebauer – appeared agitated and was becoming uncooperative. The deputy requested backup as Gebauer walked behind a vehicle where it sounded like a firearm was being chambered. As Phillips attempted to take cover, he was shot three times. He returned fire, killing Gebauer.
Gebauer had an arrest history that included charges of Aggravated Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, Fleeing and Eluding, Resisting an Officer without Violence, Burglary, Stalking, Aggravated Battery Domestic Violence and multiple traffic offenses.
Phillips, who has been a member of the Sheriff’s Office since November 2018, is a combat veteran who served in the United States Army for 14 years.
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey was attending the First Responder Games in Tampa when he learned of the incident and immediately left to see Phillips at Holmes Regional Medical Center.
“When something like this happens there are so many moving pieces to stay focused on but paramount is health and wellbeing of (the) deputy, then the mental health of family – they are going through such an emotional strain with someone they love almost being killed,” Ivey said. “There is also what we call the BCSO family. This is their brother or sister that’s injured, and they are all passionate about making sure their fellow law enforcement officers are safe.”
Melbourne Beach Police Chief Melanie Griswold said her “heart sank” upon hearing the news.
“My corporal called and said there’s been an officer-involved shooting and it was a deputy on the beachside,” Griswold said. “My very first questions were: Is he OK? Are you and my officers OK?”
Two of her officers responded to the scene, along with several other agencies.
“Because of the significance of officer-involved shootings, it is critically important to safeguard that agency and its officers and to be prepared in advance for such an event,” Griswold said. “I have reached out to Sheriff Ivey expressing my support for him, his agency, and prayers for a speedy recovery to Deputy Paul Phillips and his family. Every agency is our family, and we will be there whenever we are needed.”
Indialantic Police Chief Michael Casey also sent an officer to the scene to lend mutual assistance.
Ironically, Casey was initially offered a spot with the Indialantic Police Department in 1989 to take over for Officer Bill Johns, a 13-year police veteran who was shot and left in critical condition after being attacked by a man who was stopped on 4th Avenue in Indialantic for not having a license plate on his car. Already with the Satellite Beach Police Department, he declined, but eventually signed on with Indialantic in 1990.
“Anything can happen. It can be traffic stop, neighbors fighting over loud music, a car parked in front of their home, a fence that’s too high, or a routine traffic stop,” Casey said. “The risks are something we are always aware of but sometimes I think an incident like this reminds the citizens of those risks.”
In his more than 30 years in law enforcement, Casey said he’s never had to pull the trigger of his gun, but he’s come close, explaining the decision to fire your gun is based on two factors.
“As a police officer it’s when my life or the life of someone else is in danger,” Casey said.
On June 6, Ivey posted a picture of Deputy Phillips – surrounded by his friends and law enforcement colleagues – giving a “thumbs up” sign to the camera. The post has since received hundreds of positive comments, shares and likes, something Ivey says has “pulled the community even closer than we already are.”
He also believes the incident is a reality check of how quickly things can go bad and he’s very clear about what will happen to anyone who pulls a gun on one of his officers.
In the post Ivey reported that Phillips was recovering after undergoing hours of surgery to treat his injuries.
“Paul’s doctors have shared with us that his prognosis for a full recovery is very encouraging and we are thankful that he is progressing as well as could be expected given everything he has gone through,” Ivey wrote. “He is in excellent spirits and without question is ready to get back to work as soon as he can.”
Phillips has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, as is customary in officer involved shootings.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone who may have information about this incident is asked to please call Agent Don Reynolds of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit at 321-633-8413.