Blane Lane
Deputy Sheriff Blane Lane was shot and killed while serving a felony arrest warrant for a previous narcotic charge at a residence in Polk City.
Deputy Sheriff Lane previously served as a Detention Deputy and had one year as a Law Enforcement Deputy with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office when he was killed. He is survived by his children.
Christopher Broadhead
Deputy Sheriff Christopher Broadhead contracted
COVID-19 on-duty during the pandemic and died from complications caused by the viral infection.
Sgt. Wesley Richard Whitmore Jr.
Sergeant Wesley Whitmore, a 15-year veteran of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Air Force retiree, was struck and killed in a Winter Haven parking lot. The accident occurred when an elderly driver lost control of an SUV, crashed through a barrier, and hit Whitmore’s patrol car, pinning him as he exited the vehicle.
Joesph Robbins
Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Master Deputy Sheriff, Joseph S. (Shane) Robbins died on April 26, 2013 while on duty, as a result of a single vehicle crash.
Matthew Williams
On September 28th, 2006, Deputy Sheriff Vernon “Matt” Williams and his K-9 partner DiGi were killed in the line of duty by Angilo Freeland after Freeland fled the scene of a traffic stop and shot fellow Deputy Sheriff Doug Speirs in the leg.
The suspect was later shot and killed by law enforcement.
Sgt. Ronnie O’neal Brown
Sgt. Brown died on September 9, 2009, from injuries sustained during a struggle with an agitated inmate at the South County Jail. While responding to a broken sprinkler in a cell on August 30, Sgt. Brown was battered and shoved into a wall, requiring rescue by fellow deputies. He underwent back surgery on September 2 but tragically passed away during his recovery at Winter Haven Hospital.
Larry Rhoden
Deputy Sheriff Flight Officer Larry Rhoden, 33, of Ft. Meade, and Deputy Sheriff Pilot Brian Wilkinson, 33, of Lake Alfred, were killed when their Sheriff’s Office helicopter – a 1971 OH58 Bell Jet Ranger – crashed into a pond/pasture near Old Bartow Eagle Lake Road in Bartow (near Lake Hancock) shortly after 1 a.m. on October 22, 2001.
Rhoden was hired in 1991, and joined the Aviation Unit in January of 2001.
Brian Wilkinson
Deputy Sheriff Pilot Brian Wilkinson, 33, of Lake Alfred, and Deputy Sheriff Flight Officer Larry Rhoden, 33, of Ft.
Meade, were killed when their Sheriff’s Office helicopter – a 1971 0H58 Bell Jet Ranger – crashed into a pond/pasture near Old Bartow Eagle Lake Road in Bartow (near Lake Hancock) shortly after 1 a.m. on October 22, 2001.
Wilkinson began his career at the Sheriff’s Office in 1994.
He joined the Aviation Unit in March of 2001.
Waymon D. Allen
On May 29, 1986, while serving an undercover search warrant at a rooming house in Winter Haven, Deputy Allen was accidentally shot by another officer. After a 10-month struggle, the 39-year-old deputy passed away on March 15, 1987, from heart failure directly attributed to the gunshot wound.
David Michael Goddard
On February 2nd, 1989, at approximately 5:15 AM, while on routine patrol, Deputy Goddard was involved in a traffic crash during which his patrol vehicle impacted the rear of a truck on Airport Road, southwest of Lakeland. Deputy Goddard died at the scene as a result of the injuries sustained during the crash.
Deputy Goddard was 34 years old at the time of his death.