Florida Deputy Dies After Shooting

A 64-year-old Okaloosa County Sheriff’s deputy has died following an early Tuesday morning shooting in Shalimar.

According to the sheriff’s office, retired Deputy Bill Myers returned to the force in January to work part-time helping serve court documents. He initially retired in November 2013 after serving almost 25 years with the agency.

The sheriff’s office said Myers had just served a domestic violence injunction to 33-year-old Joel Dixon Smith of Navarre around 8:20 a.m. when the shooting occurred outside a law office.

“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 agency wrote in a media release.

Smith, the release said, then drove to a nearby hotel and barricaded himself inside a room. The sheriff’s office SWAT team responded to the scene. Smith came out of the room around 11:13 a.m. with a weapon in hand.

“Deputies responded and the suspect was struck and taken to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center where he later died,” the release said. Meyers also died at the same hospital, the agency said.

News of the shooting has rocked the Tampa Bay area law enforcement community with many local agencies posting on the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

“Praying for you all,” the Polk County Sheriff’s Office posted.

“Sheriff Al Nienhuis and the men and women of the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (are) sending warm thoughts and prayers to each of you,” that agency posted before news of Myers’ death broke.

“Deputy Myers has been a treasured part of this agency’s family since 1989,” Sheriff Larry Ashley was quoted in the media release as saying. “He served this community with distinction for decades. He was loved, admired, and respected for his dedication to the law enforcement profession.”

Tuesday’s shooting death comes on the heels of several highly publicized police shootings across the country. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, there have been 94 line-of-duty deaths since 2015 began. A total of 26 deaths have been attributed to gunfire.

Photo courtesy of the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office