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Polk County, FL - A man previously convicted of child sexual battery was fatally shot by deputies in Lakeland after allegedly attacking an elderly man and refusing to surrender.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, officials identified the suspect as 41-year-old Kentae Govan.
Deputies responded to a 911 call around 3 p.m. Wednesday on Saturn Street after reports that Govan was beating an elderly man in the head with a brick.
Investigators said the attack appeared to be unprovoked.
A woman who tried to intervene told deputies that Govan allegedly assaulted her, chased her down, and took her cellphone when she tried to call for help.
When deputies arrived, they ordered Govan to drop the brick.
According to the sheriff’s office, he refused and began charging toward the deputies.
Officers deployed Tasers, but witnesses said Govan pulled the probes out and continued advancing.
Deputies then opened fire, striking Govan multiple times.
Law enforcement immediately rendered aid before Govan was taken to Lakeland Regional Health, where he was later pronounced dead.
Sheriff Grady Judd said the suspect had reportedly told bystanders he would not go back to prison, suggesting he may have intended to provoke officers into shooting him.
Officials confirmed Govan previously served 23 years in prison, 16 for sexual battery of a child and seven for failing to register as a sex offender.
The incident remains under investigation by the 10th Judicial Circuit’s Officer-Involved Deadly Incident Task Force.