September 28, 2006, Thursday, Polk County deputies stopped a vehicle near Lakeland Fla, a routine traffic stop which turned deadly.
Both deputies were hit when shots were fired. The deputies were taken to the hospital, where deputy Matt Williams was pronouned dead after being shot 8 times, in the arms, legs, buttocks and one bullet lodged in his spine.The other two shots were fired at close range, one behind his right ear and the other near his right temple, the muzzle pressing against his skin, the autopy showed.
Angilo Freeland handed Deputy Doug Speirs a fake ID, then ran into a wooded area firing at Speirs and wounding him in the leg.
Williams and his German shepherd police dog, Diogi, went into the wooded area looking for the suspect.
After examining the shooting scene it is believed Freeland waited behinda large uprooted tree, where he could not be seen and ambushed Deputy Williams, it is thought that the K-9 was the first shot. A single bullet killed the dog when it hit him in the chest, a necropsy determined.
After executing the Deputy, Freeland took William's firearm and extra magazines.
Two Lakeland police officers exchanged gunfire with Freeland, risking thier lives to turn Freeland back to the woods, not allowing him to reach a nearby house that he was attempting to flee to.
Swat was called, 300 officers from across the region responded to the call.
A group of 10 -- officers from the Polk, Lake and Marion sheriff's offices, Lakeland Police Department and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission -- walked shoulder to shoulder, scouring the area.
'The underbrush and woods were thicker than you could ever imagine,' Judd said. As one of the officers pulled some brush aside, they spotted Freeland, who was hiding in a hole under a fallen tree perhaps 200 yards from where Williams had been killed.
'They were standing on top of him,' Judd said.
Nine of the 10 officers fired when they saw Freeland raise his right hand clutching a gun they would later learn belonged to the slain deputy.
Freeland had been arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol in 1999 on charges of not having a valid drivers license, reckless driving, aggravated fleeing to elude, resisting arrest without violence and carrying a concealed weapon.
A trust fund has been set up at Wachovia Bank to assist Williams' widow and three children.
Any Wachovia branch in Polk County will accept donations, or checks may be mailed to the 'Matt Williams Family Trust Fund' at Wachovia Bank, c/o Marilyn Watson, 203 Ave. A, Winter Haven, FL33881.
MSNBCOrlando Sentinel
