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Case Number 62
Being located in central Florida, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office has had plenty of practice utilizing our established Incident Command System as required in Chapter 46 of the CALEA Standards. You may remember 2004 when Polk County endured the eye of three hurricanes (Charley, Jeanne, and Frances) passing through, leaving behind major destruction. The required CALEA analysis enabled the agency to take a critical review of our actions after each hurricane and to identify areas where we could improve.
On September 28, 2006, the eyes of the nation were fixated on the Polk County Sheriff’s Office as Sheriff Grady Judd faced the media with the devastating news regarding the murder of Deputy Sheriff Vernon “Matt” Williams and his K-9 partner, Diogi. Deputy Sheriff Doug Speirs had also been shot and was expected to recover. During this tumultuous time the lone suspect had also fired several rounds at two Lakeland Police officers. This scene unfolded as the result of a routine traffic stop wherein the suspect fled on foot into a wooded area.
Utilizing established Incident Command System (ICS) protocols, a perimeter was immediately set up, a command post was established, and cooperative efforts between the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, numerous other law enforcement agencies, and the media were established in order to assist in locating the suspect.
A local high school was immediately locked down for the safety of the students and faculty contained therein. Law enforcement personnel later escorted students to waiting school buses and ensured their safe transport to another location where they were reunited with their parents.
A manhunt for the suspect continued through the night and into the next morning. Over 600 law enforcement members responded from all over the state to assist in the search. At 9:35 a.m. on September 29, 2006, the suspect who possessed Deputy Sheriff Williams’ .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol in his hand, was fatally shot by a SWAT team composed of members from five separate agencies.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office continues to mourn the loss of Deputy Sheriff Williams and K-9 Diogi. The one fortunate thing that did come out of this was the manner in which Sheriff Judd and the entire agency came together with an immediate response to put a stop to an individual who had no regard for human life and would have likely continued on a killing spree had he not been contained within a well established perimeter and through established ICS protocols put into action.
Linda M. Johnson, Lieutenant Polk County (FL) Sheriff’s Office
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The Polk County Sheriff’s
Office is a “D” size agency, located in central Florida between Orlando and
Tampa. The agency was initially CALEA Law Enforcement Accredited in 1994, and
also proudly holds five additional national and state accreditations,
demonstrating a deep commitment to the accreditation process. Accreditation is a
way of life at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.