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Miramar Cop Kills Suspected Burglar In Home

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DAVIE (CBSMiami) – A burglar tried to break into a Davie home and it ended up costing him his life.

The police union president said the man broke a back window and directly confronted the police officer who lives at the home. That's when the Miramar police officer opened fire.

But that burglary may be connected to another that happened moments before.

When the young man attempted to break into Pat Goodson's Davie home Wednesday morning, he couldn't open a door.  She says that's when he cut a screen and ended up just outside her master bedroom sliding glass door.

"He tried to get this open, because I could hear this and that's what woke me up," said Goodson. "He picked a good spot. This is a dark spot but that saved me. That lights up like you wouldn't believe."

She went on, "By the time I heard that he was here, I opened the verticals. We were face to face."

She says he couldn't have been older than 20, and she thought she saw a gun.

"I noticed immediately this black thing in his waist and I thought oh my god it's a gun and that's when I went around the corner real quick, went into my bathroom and called 911," said Goodson. "He went out and he was gone."

Minutes later, she realized there was a commotion around the corner from her house.

Davie police, who were in the area from her 911 call, responded to a home along the 6200 block of  Gauntlet Hall Lane where the police officer who lives there shot and killed a burglar.

"I woke up to a loud bang. I wasn't sure what the sound was and I just found out it was a gunshot which is pretty scary," said neighbor Michael Santana.

Lyle Milstein lives next to Goodson. His cameras were rolling and captured what happened at Goodson's home, but he declined to share the video with CBS4. Milstein said there have been burglaries in this neighborhood and he's ready to protect himself.

"I'm very sorry that they didn't try my house because it would have been a different result," Milstein said. "If they're stupid enough to break into my house, they'll suffer the consequences."

The Broward Police Benevolent Association is representing the officer saying the incident was a police action. They say the officer was in fear for his life when the man came directly at him. He did not have a gun but was carrying burglary tools. Some neighbors agree with the use of deadly force.

"Guy shouldn't have been in his house. You break into somebody's house, whose life is threatened- bye bye. That's my feeling. One less burglar to worry about," said neighbor Ken Burg.

But other neighbors believe less violent tactics should have been taken.

"Another reason why I don't think there should be guns in the world. It's very dangerous. But I guess it's good that somebody protected them," said neighbor Val O'Connor. "I think a Taser would have been nice though instead of of killing him."

Davie police have not said whether the officer who lives there will be charged for the shooting or if this is a clear case of self-defense.

Police have also not confirmed whether the two attempted break-ins are the work of the same burglar.

Miramar police told CBS4 a little bit about the detective who fired the fatal shot.

They said he is an 11-year veteran of the force with a clean record and he has never shot anyone in the line of duty.

The officer has reportedly been given some time off to deal with the incident.

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