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A man who shot and killed another man in Florida this week during an argument over a parking space will not be arrested or charged by the sheriffs office because of the states so-called Stand Your Ground law, the authorities said.

Britany Jacobs, 25, was sitting in a car parked in a handicapped space outside a convenience store in Clearwater, Fla., on Thursday afternoon when a man, Michael Drejka, approached her vehicle and started looking for a handicap permit, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County said at a news conference on Friday. Ms. Jacobss boyfriend, Markeis McGlockton, and their 5-year-old son were in the store when Ms. Jacobs and Mr. Drejka began to yell at each other about whether she was permitted to be in that space, Sheriff Gualtieri said.

In a video recorded on a surveillance camera, Mr. McGlockton, 28, exits the Circle A Food Store, approaches Mr. Drejka and shoves him to the ground. After Mr. McGlockton takes a few steps back, Mr. Drejka, 47, pulls out a gun and shoots him once in the chest.

Mr. McGlockton then retreats back into the store, clutching his chest. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Sheriff Gualtieri said.

Sheriff Gualtieri said his office did not arrest or charge Mr. Drejka, who had a concealed carry permit, because of Floridas Stand Your Ground law, which removes the obligation to retreat if a person feels threatened and frees the person to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm.

The law was a national flash point after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the 2012 fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager. The case reignited a debate about racial profiling and just treatment under the law.

In the recent Florida case, Mr. McGlockton, who was black, backed away from Mr. Drejka, who is white, after pushing him to the ground. Sheriff Gualtieri said this brief retreat gave him pause, but Mr. Drejka told the authorities that he was in fear that he was going to be struck again.

Sheriff Gualtieri described the contact as a violent push. This wasnt a shove, this wasnt just a tap, he said at the news conference. He slammed him to the ground.

Mr. Drejka had previously complained about people parking illegally in handicapped spots, he said.

The sheriffs office will refer the case to the state attorneys office to determine whether Mr. Drejka should be charged. Sheriff Gualtieri added that by instituting this law, the Florida Legislature had created a subjective standard for determining whether the person who used force was in fear of bodily harm, but suggested that his hands were tied because his department could be sued if it failed to follow the laws requirements.

I dont make the law we enforce the law, he said. And Im going to enforce it the way its written, the way the Legislatures intended for it to be applied. And others can have the debate about whether they like it or not.

Ms. Jacobs declined an interview on Saturday after she was reached by phone. Mr. Drejka did not respond to a request for comment.

Floridas law, which was adopted in 2005, received support from the National Rifle Association but was vigorously opposed by law enforcement officers. Last year, the State Legislature made it easier to use the law as a defense by shifting the burden during immunity hearings from the defense to the prosecution to show that such laws should not apply.

The state attorney for Pinellas County, Bernie McCabe, will have to present clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Drejka was not entitled to use the Stand Your Ground law, Sheriff Gualtieri said. Mr. McCabe could not be reached on Saturday.

More than most other states, Florida has made it particularly difficult to prosecute when a defendant has a reasonable claim to self-defense, said Caroline Light, a Harvard professor and the author of a book on the history of Stand Your Ground-type self-defense laws. Professor Light said that, in the video, Mr. McGlockton appeared to be defending his family through nonlethal means.

He shoves him, seemingly in an effort to get him away from his girlfriend, and then walks away, she said. The video would suggest its actually not reasonable for him to fear for his life.

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Florida Sheriff Cites Stand Your Ground in Not Arresting ...