Alteria Woods

The Washington Post's Fatal Force database records Alteria Woods in a fatal on-duty police shooting on 2017-03-19 in Gifford, FL. Individual circumstances and legal outcome require case-specific review.

What happened

Alteria Woods, 21, who was pregnant, was killed during an Indian River County sheriff's SWAT raid at a house in Gifford, Florida, on March 19, 2017. Deputies were executing a search warrant targeting her boyfriend, Andrew Coffee IV, and his father, and an exchange of gunfire erupted. Woods was struck repeatedly. Sheriff Deryl Loar initially alleged that Coffee IV had used Woods as a human shield, a claim challenged by her relatives. Investigators and prosecutors pursued murder and attempted-murder charges against Coffee IV relating to her death and the confrontation. In November 2021, a jury acquitted Coffee IV of second-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder of officers, as well as a related projectile count, while convicting him of a separate felon-in-possession firearms charge. Woods's mother Yolanda supported the verdict and said she believed Coffee loved her daughter. In 2022, Coffee received a 10-year sentence on the firearms conviction. A 2017 grand jury had declined charges against two involved officers, a separate review from Coffee's later acquittal.

Investigation & findings

Individual legal and investigative outcome not yet reviewed.

What happened

Investigation & findings

Sources & records