Authorities say Myers had gone to a Shalimar law office earlier in the day to deliver a domestic violence injunction to 33-year-old Joel Smith.
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The suspect then drove to the Comfort Inn and Suites, barricading himself inside a room.
In this undated photo provided by the Okaloosa Sheriff’s Office, shows Deputy Bill Myers.
Wray said he was stooped over Myers when a nicely dressed man walked out of the law office.
NorthEscambia.com reported on September 23, “Deputy Myers was walking outside when he was shot multiple times in the back, including a gunshot wound to the rear of his head”. The gunman was later shot and killed while exchanging gunfire with deputies at a motel. “We just pray everyday that this will stop and it won’t happen but inevitably it will continue to happen it looks like”, Sheriff Frank McKeithen said. After she refused, he continued to flee while trying to open vehicles and homes on his way.
“He loved photography and he had an ability to make those around him smile, especially his young granddaughter who he adored and took to Disney World as often as he could”, Sheriff Ashley continues to explain.
After an hour and a half of negotiations, Smith emerged from the room with a weapon, police said, before deputies shot him.
According to Sheriff Ashley, “Deputy Myers has been a treasured part of this agency’s family since 1989”.
Smith exited the room brandishing a handgun, and deputies fired, hitting Smith multiple times. In addition, Smith was previously arrested in April 2008 by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office for domestic battery. Myers died after undergoing surgery in a local hospital Tuesday afternoon. “My wife, Ann, and I send our sincerest condolences to Deputy Myers” family and brothers and sisters in Florida’s law enforcement community”. “The woman who was driving the auto will not be charged with anything as far as I know, at this point we don’t even know who she is”.
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“When they lose an officer, we lose an officer”. Myers’ gun wasn’t in his holster, the sheriff said. “When they brought the guy out, he was on a gurney with his face covered”.
