Boca Raton Police Release Footage, Announce Internal Probe of Officer-Involved Shooting

Boca Raton Police Chief Jarad Phelps addresses the media, Oct. 5, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

State investigators and prosecutors cleared a Boca Raton police officer who fatally shot a suspect in the course of his duties, but the department’s chief announced Monday that staff would take a wider look at the circumstances of the incident.

Chief Jarad Phelps held a news conference Monday during which he announced the investigation and released footage collected by the state Department of Law Enforcement, chronicling the fatal encounter that occurred Dec. 18, 2024 near the intersection of NW 2nd Avenue and Palmetto Park Road. The officer’s body-worn camera was not activated, however security cameras from nearby businesses as well as footage from bystanders provided a clear view of what transpired, including the moment shots were fired.

The department released 911 calls from numerous drivers and witnesses reporting a man – later identified as 39-year-old Morey Clemmons – taking off articles of clothing, running in the middle of the road and approaching vehicles. The footage showed Boca Raton Police Officer Michael Super responding to the call and attempting to speak to Clemmons before he continued running into the road and across the nearby railroad tracks. Backup was called almost immediately, however at least one nearby unit was delayed since the gates were down at the Palmetto Park Road railroad crossing.

Eventually, Clemmons is seen running toward the officer, presumably to physically confront him. Super drew his taser and fired twice, however the taser failed and did not appear to have any effect on Clemmons. At one point, Super was seen creating distance between himself and Clemmons to avoid a fight spilling into the public roadway, before giving him more commands to stop. As Super walked backwards with his pistol drawn, Clemmons continued moving toward him, at which point Super fired twice. Clemmons appeared to fall to the ground immediately.

Surveillance footage capturing a fatal police shooting in Boca Raton, FL, Dec. 2024, as released in Oct. 2026. (Boca Daily News)

Surveillance footage capturing a fatal police shooting in Boca Raton, FL, Dec. 2024, as released in Oct. 2026. (Boca Daily News)

Following the shooting, Super was placed on administrative paid leave pursuant to department policy, Phelps said, but returned to work in January 2025. The shooting was ultimately considered justified by FDLE, which forwarded a report to the state’s attorney’s office, which did not find wrongdoing necessitating any criminal charges.

Phelps, who did not work for the department at the time of the incident, said he wished to launch an internal investigation to demonstrate transparency to residents of the city, review the department’s use of force policies, and take a deeper look at indirect factors that may have influenced the outcome of the situation. Phelps said before addressing the media, he met with Clemmons’ family and their attorney, showed them the footage, and explained the outcome of the state’s investigation.

“It was a very cordial, very pleasant meeting,” said Phelps. “They’re looking for closure. They’re looking to understand the facts that occurred, because up until this point they had not been given that. So this is the first opportunity that I was able to provide them with the full facts of what transpired.”

Phelps said the administrative review will look at factors ranging from a lack of audio in some of the footage, to the body-worn camera which was not activated, to the fact that that a taser was not able to subdue the suspect, to the overall police response and outside factors such as how long it took backup to arrive. The wider investigation will be conducted alongside, but separate from, a use-of-force review.

“You have the use-of-force investigation, and if there’s any policy or procedure issues that come up, then there’s a separate administrative investigation for those,” he said.

The department is not giving itself a hard deadline to complete the investigation since police staff want to ensure every facet of the incident is reviewed to the fullest extent possible.

“It is very important to me, the culture here of transparency with our communities. It’s about building that trust,” Phelps said. “We have members of this community that are watching this. They want to know what’s going on, especially from our community in the Pearl City area. I’m very attuned to that. I want to make sure that we are being very transparent, to the legal limits that I’m allowed to be, because what goes on here affects this entire community.”