AUBURNDALE, Fla. – A newly obtained arrest affidavit provides additional details surrounding Monday’s deputy-involved shooting in Auburndale, including allegations that a domestic violence suspect intentionally drove a heavy-duty flatbed truck head-on into a marked Polk County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle before an officer-involved shooting occurred.
The incident happened Monday morning in the Sun Acres neighborhood after deputies responded to a reported domestic violence call.
According to the affidavit, the victim told investigators that her husband, Christopher Murphy, had been awake for three to four days and had a history of fentanyl and methamphetamine use. She said Murphy had become increasingly paranoid and aggressive in the hours leading up to the incident.
The affidavit states that on the night before the incident, Murphy became enraged during an argument after tripping over a storage tote. Investigators say Murphy rushed toward the victim, pressed his forehead against hers, yelled, “Nobody wants a mouthy bitch,” and pushed her head backward with an open hand, causing her glasses to press into her face.
The following morning, Murphy allegedly resumed yelling, throwing items around the home while searching for nicotine pouches. Fearing another confrontation, the victim ran from the residence and called 911.
As deputies responded, Sgt. Towns spotted Murphy driving away in a large International flatbed truck. According to investigators, the sergeant activated the emergency lights on his fully marked Ford F-150 patrol vehicle and positioned it in the roadway in an attempt to stop Murphy.
Instead, detectives allege Murphy intentionally drove directly into the front of the patrol vehicle. The affidavit states that an officer-involved shooting occurred during the confrontation.
During a post-Miranda interview at Lakeland Regional Health, Murphy reportedly admitted consuming methamphetamine the night before the incident. Detectives wrote that Murphy also admitted leaving the residence after seeing the victim call 911 because he knew he was going to jail.
According to the affidavit, Murphy told detectives that when he later saw the marked patrol vehicle with its emergency lights activated, he thought, “Fuck it, ima roll with it,” before driving head-on into the sergeant’s patrol truck.
After the collision, Murphy fled on foot despite commands to stop, according to investigators. Deputies later found him hiding inside a chicken coop on a nearby property.
Sheriff Grady Judd said Murphy suffered only a graze wound to the ear during the shooting. No deputies were injured.
Based on the investigation, detectives charged Murphy with:
- Domestic Violence Battery
- Attempted Second-Degree Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer
- Aggravated Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer
- Resisting an Officer with Violence
- Resisting an Officer Without Violence
The deputy-involved shooting remains under investigation by the 10th Judicial Circuit Officer-Involved Deadly Incident Task Force. That investigation is separate from the criminal case against Murphy and will examine the circumstances surrounding the sergeant’s use of force.
The arrest affidavit released in Murphy’s criminal case provides additional context about the events leading up to the shooting but does not represent the findings of the independent investigation into the deputy-involved shooting.
