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Update: A grand jury found Coral Springs Police Det. Brian Koenig and Officer Frank Marinez “were legally justified in using deadly force” against Robert Page on Dec. 6, 2017.

By Kevin Deutsch

A decorated Coral Springs Police detective is the subject of a grand jury review probing the killing of an armed man shot during a 2017 standoff with police, court records show.

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Det. Brian Koenig, named 2020 Detective of the Year by the Broward County Chiefs of Police Association, was one of the officers who opened fire when 71-year-old Robert Page emerged from a home carrying a shotgun in the 1200 block of Northwest 11th Court on Dec. 6, 2017.

Page, a military veteran, had been threatening suicide and posed a threat to officers when he came out with his gun, officials from the Broward Sheriff’s Office—which is tasked with investigating Page’s homicide—said at the time. He died at the scene.

All fatal police-involved shootings in Broward County are investigated by law enforcement, and the evidence examined by prosecutors.

Page’s standoff with Coral Springs Police SWAT team members lasted about 90 minutes. The standoff came after police received notification Page was threatening suicide and had weapons inside the home.

Page confronted SWAT team members while carrying the shotgun and refused their commands, leading two Coral Springs Police officers to open fire and kill him, authorities said at the time.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office made the disclosure about Koenig’s involvement in the shooting as part of a Jan. 26 court filing in their prosecution of Raymond Reese, the gunman who allegedly shot beloved Parkland mom and realtor Sara Trost to death in Coral Springs on Dec. 23. Koenig is investigating her homicide, records show.

That means Koenig could potentially testify as a witness for the prosecution against Reese.

Though the investigations into Reese’s alleged crimes and Page’s death have no connection, prosecutors are required to disclose active grand jury reviews of police actions under the Brady Rule, which mandates prosecutors disclose any evidence helpful to the defendant, including evidence applicable to the credibility of a witness.

“Coral Springs Police Officer Brian Koenig is the subject of a Grand Jury Review wherein a person (Robert Page) died as a result of police action,” Assistant Broward State Attorney Taylor Hoffmann wrote in the court filing.

Coral Springs Deputy Chief Brad McKeone, who was in charge at the scene during the 2017 police standoff with Page, told Coral Springs Talk Sunday that Koenig “was doing his job and saved lives.”

“Deadly force was used to prevent loss of life” in the police-involved shooting, McKeone said.

“Officer Koenig’s actions, [based on] all the information I have, was 100 percent within policy and justified. We’re just waiting for the State Attorney to officially close out the case.”

In the Page case, police responded to a disturbance at the home the night before the shooting. The next day, the Coral Springs Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics Team, a version of SWAT, responded to the home, and negotiators attempted to get Page to come out.

When he eventually complied, he exited the home armed with a shotgun and refused the officer’s commands, officials said at the time. No one else was injured.

In Florida, grand juries may investigate and report on police shootings even if no criminal activity is suspected.

In 2020, Koenig earned Broward’s Detective of the Year distinction “because of his outstanding investigative work on several high-profile, violent felony cases,” the police department said in an announcement at the time.

“His ability to work with other law enforcement organizations and involvement in task forces led to Det. Koenig identifying suspects and resulted in subsequent arrests. This type of detective work is crucial to bringing justice to the victims and their families. We are proud of this recognition and thankful for his dedicated service.”

After Trost’s murder, Koenig helped build the initial case against Reese, who had apparently mistaken Trost for a homeowner who had recently evicted him in Coral Springs.

According to court records, Reese was also upset by an email his former landlady sent him the night before the murder.

Trost, 40, was sitting in the driver’s seat of her Jeep Wrangler, the vehicle parked directly in front of 5730 NW 48th Ct. when witnesses in the home’s driveway saw Reese’s blue Ford Fusion drive up to Trost’s Jeep and crash into its front, driver’s side tire, authorities said.

“They watched as the victim opened the driver’s door,” Koenig wrote in court records. “The driver of the sedan then pointed a handgun out of the window and fired multiple rounds at the victim from within the dark blue sedan. The suspect then fled the area.”

Police officers arrived to find Trost dead in her Jeep with gunshot wounds to her upper left chest and left arm.

Hours later, Reese phoned authorities to admit to the killing, records show. He also said the gun he had used to shoot the victim was in his Ford Fusion, parked in the lot outside his residence.

When authorities arrived, they found his crash-damaged Fusion with blood on its passenger side.

Reese is charged with first-degree murder in Trost’s death and is being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail. Grand Jury Memo

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Author Profile

Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.