Police said the suspect left the scene and was arrested with help from neighboring counties.
ORLANDO, Fla. — A retired Orlando police officer was shot on New Year’s Day during what investigators called a family dispute and later died at a hospital Thursday night on Kozart Street in the city’s west side, authorities said.
Police identified the victim as Dennis Turner, a 23-year veteran who retired from the Orlando Police Department in 2018. Detectives said the shooting happened shortly before 7 p.m. on Jan. 1 outside a home. The case drew a multi-county response as officers searched for a suspect who left the area after the gunfire. By Friday, police said the man they were looking for was in custody and booked on a homicide charge, moving the case from an urgent search into a formal investigation.
Officers said they found Turner on the ground with a gunshot wound around 6:58 p.m. and rushed him to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. “Preliminary information indicates this incident stemmed from a family dispute,” the department said. Investigators named Jeffery London, 58, as the suspected shooter. Police said London fled but was located with assistance from agencies in Polk and Highlands counties. He faces counts of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to police statements released Friday.
Authorities did not immediately detail what led to the confrontation on Kozart Street or describe the relationship between London and Turner beyond calling it a family matter. No other injuries were reported. Detectives processed the block for evidence Thursday night and into Friday morning and canvassed nearby homes for video and witnesses. Turner retired in 2018 after more than two decades with the agency. Officials said the department’s TAC officers and regional law enforcement partners coordinated the arrest after London left the city following the shooting.
Records connected to Turner’s career note he served for 23 years before retirement. After retiring, he returned as a reserve in 2019, a role that drew scrutiny when he arrested two children in separate incidents and was later removed from that assignment for policy violations, according to prior agency statements. Police on Friday focused on the current homicide case and did not comment on his past administrative history. The neighborhood where the shooting occurred sits in a residential stretch west of downtown Orlando, where detectives cordoned off a section of Kozart Street and redirected traffic while crime-scene technicians worked under portable lights.
Police said London remained in custody Friday and would face a first appearance in court as the case proceeds under Orange County prosecutors. Investigators said they were conducting interviews, reviewing any available home surveillance, and awaiting ballistic findings. Officials said they would release additional details once next-of-kin notifications and key witness statements were complete. No additional suspects are being sought, and the department said the investigation remains active with updates expected as they are confirmed.
Neighbors described a heavy police presence after nightfall on Jan. 1 and a quiet street turned into a taped-off scene as technicians took photographs and marked shell casings. Officers moved house to house asking for doorbell video while others stood by cruisers idling along the curb. “It was all lights and sirens, then it went very still,” one nearby resident said, declining to give a name because of the ongoing investigation.
As of Friday afternoon, the department said Turner’s killing is being treated as a single-incident shooting tied to a domestic dispute. London remained jailed pending a court date, and detectives planned to finish interviews and forward evidence to prosecutors. Officials said more information could be released over the weekend if autopsy results or additional records become available.
Author note: Last updated January 2, 2026.