According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a lone shooter shot two deputies early on Saturday morning, sending them to the hospital.
According to Sheriff Grady Judd, the incident started at approximately 12:22 a.m. when a Hunt Fountain Park deputy noticed a car parked nearby after the park closed.
When the deputy got close to the car, the driver “a small amount” down rolled down his window, according to Judd. He refused to answer the female deputy’s questions about why he was in the park. The suspect resisted the deputy’s requests to get out of the car.
The sheriff claimed, “She withdraws to her car and requests more assistance because he is resisting her.”
The call was answered by Deputies Craig Smith and Chad Anderson. Judd reported that two trainees and four deputies in all were on the scene. The driver was again told to get out of the car by the cops, but he refused.
Judd stated, “They had no idea at the time that this was a sovereign citizen.” “Morish and Moorish was he.” It is well known that sovereign individuals oppose law enforcement and have a history of shooting police officers. They also think that neither state nor federal law applies to them.
Moorish sovereign citizens, whose precise origins are unknown, are supporters of a movement that started in the 1900s, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Moorish sovereign citizens are categorized as an extreme group by the SPLC.
According to Judd, the guy started shooting at the officers as they attempted to take him from the car.
The sheriff added, “Lieutenant Chad Anderson was shot once in the arm, and the bullet went through and into his chest.” “Craig Smith, our deputy, was shot four times. They instantly collapsed. Lieutenant Anderson fired off a few shots.
The suspect was shot and killed by the backup deputies who retaliated after he opened fire. Judd remarked, “We killed him graveyard dead.”
For medical attention, both deputies were brought to a hospital. As of Saturday morning, both Smith and Anderson were in the intensive care unit, according to Judd.
