Funeral services for Polk County Deputy Matthew Williams and his K-9 partner took place Tuesday afternoon.
Williams and K-9 Officer Diogi died together in the thick brush of nearby woods following a traffic stop Thursday.
The man who shot and killed Williams and Diogi was himself gunned down by police officers the next day.
Almost 5,000 people attended Williams' funeral service at the Victory Church in Lakeland.
"He will ever be etched in our hearts and in our souls," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "Some faced with a dangerous and deadly gunfight would say, 'Why me?' Matt would tell you today, 'Why not me?' "
Williams leaves behind a wife and three children.
"A man remembered never, ever dies," one of Williams' colleagues and best friends, Mike Evans, told the assembled mourners.
Williams and Diogi are buried together at Auburndale Memorial Cemetery.
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Thousands Mourn Slain Fla. Deputy
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) -- A sheriff's deputy gunned down last week after a routine traffic stop was remembered Tuesday as an avid fisherman, doting father and a gifted dog handler.
The memorial service for Polk County Deputy Vernon Matthew Williams, 39, who was fatally shot along with his police dog, drew thousands, including officers from as far away as Rhode Island.
Officers stood at attention in neat rows as the casket bearing Williams' body and the cremated remains of his German shepherd police dog Diogi were carried from Victory Church in Lakeland. Both will be buried together at the Auburndale Memorial Cemetery.
"Please don't mistake our tears of grief today for weakness," Sheriff Grady Judd said. "The tears you see here are of frustration."
Williams' wife, Nancy, and his three children, 19-year-old Christopher and 16-year-old twins Jimmy and Amanda, huddled together in the front row of the church.
Williams was killed last week after a traffic stop. Deputy Doug Speirs had pulled a man over for speeding and became suspicious of his identification, authorities said. The man got nervous and bolted into the woods, according to the sheriff.
Speirs called for backup. Williams arrived and they began tracking the motorist into the woods. The man fired on them, killing Williams and the dog, authorities said. Speirs was shot in the leg, but survived.
The shootings prompted a massive manhunt with more than 500 officers. It ended about 24 hours later when a SWAT team fatally shot the suspect, later identified as 27-year-old Angilo Freeland.
Angilo Freeland — who was suspected of fatally shooting the deputy after being pulled over for speeding Thursday — was hit 68 times by the SWAT team members' shots, the examination released Saturday showed.
...
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he was not concerned by the number of shots fired.
"You have to understand, he had already shot and killed a deputy, he had already shot and killed a K-9 and he shot and injured another deputy," Judd said by phone Saturday. "Quite frankly, we weren't taking any chances."
Ten SWAT officers surrounded Freeland on Friday as he hid beneath brush and a fallen tree in a rural area. Authorities say he raised the gun belonging to the deputy he had killed, prompting nine officers to fire.
"I suspect the only reason 110 rounds was all that was fired was that's all the ammunition they had," Judd said. "We were not going to take any chance of him shooting back."
LAKELAND -- Two Polk County deputies were shot this afternoon following a traffic stop west of Lakeland, and one died, Sheriff Grady Judd said.
The other deputy was shot in the leg and expected to recover. A search dog with one of the deputies also was killed, Judd said at a 4:15 p.m. news conference.
A manhunt is underway for the shooter.
The dead deputy was identified as Vernon "Matt" Williams, 39, who joined the agency in April 1994. The sheriff's office said he leaves behind a wife and three children.
The deputy who was wounded was identified as Douglas Speirs, 39, who joined the agency in February 2000. He is reported in stable condition at Lakeland Regional Medical Center.
Also killed was Diogi, a German Shepherd who has been deputy Williams "canine partner" since 2000.
According to Judd, Speirs stopped a vehicle for speeding on Wabash Avenue near Tenth Street about 10:45 a.m. The driver of that vehicle gave the deputy a false ID and at some point asked if he was going to be arrested.
Judd said Spiers told the driver he didn't know if he would be arrested. That's when, according to Judd, the driver, who is described as a black male with dreadlocks wearing a white shirt, ran into nearby woods. Williams and his dog, Diogi, arrived to help search for the suspect.
At 12:30 p.m. "numerous shots were fired," Judd said. Speirs fired back, but he and Williams were shot in the exchange.
As law enforcement arrived in the area to look for the shooter, the man came from behind a nearby house and shot at Lakeland police officers, who returned fire. None of the Lakeland police officers were injured, department spokesman Jack Gillen said.
Law enforcement from across the region responded to west Lakeland to aid in the search for the shooter.
During a brief afternoon press conference, Judd said, "We will find him. We will bring him to justice."
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People wishing to make donations to the Williams family can also do so in the following ways at any Wachovia Bank branch in Polk County or mail a donation check, made out to the Matt Williams Family Trust Fund, to:
Wachovia Bank
c/o Marilyn Watson
203 Avenue A
Winter Haven, FL 33881
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"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." -- John Quincy Adams
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I follwed this story and it seems like in todays world so many would rather kill and then kill themselves rather than try to work out their problems. Starts with the parents, the lack of morals being taught anywhere in someones life and the handcuffing of our school teacher and admins......or at least thats the way I see it.
That is beyond sad. Cheesy, but it is also a good reminder why *so* much respect should be given to all those who put on that uniform and take those risks every day ...
Officers exonerated in shooting of man who killed deputy
BARTOW, Florida (AP) — A state prosecutor says officers were justified when they shot a fugitive 68 times the morning after he killed a Polk County sheriff's deputy.
Officials say a team of officers from around the state fired 110 rounds at Angilo Freeland on September 29th, the day after he shot and killed Polk County sheriff's Deputy Vernon Matthew Williams and his police dog. Freeland was hiding under a log and was armed with Williams' gun.
Assistant State Attorney Cass Castillo wrote in a review of the shooting that Freeland was repeatedly told to show his hands and instead of complying, "made a sudden movement which created reasonable fear on the part of the officers."
Castillo sent a letter saying the shooting was justified to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is also investigating the shooting. The Justice Department has also asked the FBI to investigate after a civil rights group called Freeland's death "an atrocity."
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There was a 22 year old guy (drunk) who killed a 78 year old man by throwing him heavily to the ground after the old chap went crook at him for urinating on a supermarket wall. He got 2 years.
As in the shooting of the police officer and his dog there are too many people in this world who really are just a "waste of space".
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