PINELLAS PARK (FOX 13) -
The FDLE has cleared a state trooper in the shooting of a man who runs a cemetery in Pinellas County.
In September, the trooper opened fire at the Royal Palms Cemetery in Pinellas Park where he was investigating a stolen motorcycle.
The FDLE report says trooper Daniel Cole was acting within his duties when he fired his gun 18 times at cemetery owner Clifford Word.
The report says the man was coming out of a shed with his gun when he confronted the officer. He said he thought he was being robbed and was blinded by the trooper's headlights.
Cole fired his weapon and one bullet hit the man. He was wounded. The state report also says the man never fired his weapon, which he was licensed to carry.
The state attorney's office will not pursue charges.
This is not the first investigation into an action by Cole, who last September left a woman in a coma after using a stun gun on her.
