Marion County Deputy killed...

Article published Feb 8, 2004 Marion deputy shot to death Gunfire erupts killing officer, elderly man PINE RUN - A K-9 sheriff's deputy was shot and killed by a 74-year-old man Saturday when deputies went to the man's home to conduct a well-being check. Deputy Brian Litz, 35, died in the attack. The elderly man that was being checked on, Ivan Gotham, 74, also died. Sheriff's deputies and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is investigating the incident, released few details about the shooting at 9030 S.W. 104th Place. Sheriff Ed Dean announced at a sorrowful press conference that the Sheriff's Office communication center received a call from Gotham's son asking the department to check on his father. He advised that his father did have a gun. He said he had not heard from his father in two days. The call, which reportedly was made at 12:07 p.m., was dispatched at 12:12 p.m. Neighbors in the normally, quiet senior adult community of well-maintained manufactured homes, said Gotham moved into the southwest Marion County neighborhood about six months ago. According to neighbors, a sheriff's deputy showed up at Gotham's home and within minutes of his arrival, made contact with Gotham. Gotham, who was inside his home, began arguing with the unidentified deputy. The deputy then ran to the end of the street. Within minutes, eyewitnesses said two other deputies arrived. One of the deputies hid behind a post, while Litz walked up to Gotham's front window. Witnesses said they heard a loud pop, and Litz, who was standing at the window, fell to the ground. The witnesses said they heard Litz yell to his colleague that he was hit. "At first, I heard two shots within five seconds, then I heard three or four shots after that," said one neighbor who did not want to be identified. "Shortly after those shots, we saw more deputies arrived on the scene." The witnesses said shots were fired back and forth, and during the exchange, Gotham was killed. Authorities would not discuss specifics or divulge any details about the shooting. They also would not say if Gotham turned the gun on himself or if one of their deputies shot him. They also would not say where Litz was shot. Litz, who died on the scene, reportedly was wearing his bulletproof vest. "I can't comment on any specifics of the case because it's an on-going investigation," Dean said. But the somber sheriff did say that Litz "died doing what's right." One neighbor, Mary Ann Bradshaw, said she was doing some paperwork in her home, when she noticed a deputy's car parked in front of Gotham's home. She said she heard a shot, and a deputy told her to stay inside and close the door because someone had a gun. Gotham, who lived alone with his dog, was described by neighbors as "weird," "odd," and not the "easiest person to get along with." Several people who lived near his home said Gotham sometimes stood at the corner of Southwest 90 Avenue and Southwest 104th Place, just a few yards from his tan and white manufactured home, and "stared into space." "He just gave you an uncomfortable feeling," said one woman. Neighbors said Gotham would walk his dog, and during those walks, would sometimes peep into neighbors homes. They also said he recently was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital. Sources familiar with the investigation said Gotham was taken to The Centers early last month, but because the facility does not treat people who has Medicare, he was immediately assessed and sent to a hospital that accepts Medicare patients. Of the three surrounding facilities that treats Medicare patients - Hernando, Gainesville and Leesburg - Gotham was taken to the Hernando center for treatment. It was not known how long Gotham stayed in Hernando, or when he was released. Neighbors said it wasn't unusual to have "one or two characters" in the neighborhood. A group who stood chatting in the front lawn of a home, said they once had a neighbor who would bang on pots and pans or anything he could get his hands on late at nights or early in the morning. He moved, however, about six months ago. Deputies who served with Litz said he was a fun-loving man who went above and beyond the call of duty to help fellow deputies. An example of his dedication to his fellow deputies was shown on Friday when Litz came on duty at 6 a.m. and worked his regular shift, which included helping his fellow deputies look for Bonnie Lacy, 75, an Alzheimer's patient who was missing since Thursday night. On his way home, he heard deputies were looking for a burglar. He assisted them with that case, before going to another incident where deputies were in pursuit of someone. Litz did this even though his shift ended at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Litz was working his regular shift, when he was shot. Litz had a wife, Cherie, and a son, Brian, 5, who will forever be apart of the "Sheriff's Office family," Dean said. "That's what we do, we take care of our own, and now we got another son to raise and we're going to take him under our wings," said Dean. Litz's wife, Cherie, is said to be devastated by the news of her husband's death. Hired as a part time bailiff in October 1994, Litz became a deputy in June 1995. He was transferred to the K-9 Unit in October 2001. Before he was transferred to the K-9 Unit, Litz was a former Honor Guard and Field Force Team member. He also served as a Field Training Officer for the Patrol Division. He and his dog, Justice, were practically inseparable. Litz was given numerous Letters of Commendation from citizens and other law enforcement agencies, and was also awarded three Eagle Eye medals and a Medal of Commendation. Two years ago, Litz, along with K-9 Justice, had received their National K-9 Bomb Certification which certified them as experts in detecting explosives. Within the last 50 plus years, only two Marion deputies, Deputy Bill Rutherford and Sheriff Edward J. Porter Jr., have died in the line of duty. Rutherford was killed in 1990 when he was hit by a drunk driver on State Road 200. In 1951, Porter was killed when a prisoner who he was transporting stabbed him with a ice pick before taking his gun and shooting him. A little more than two years ago, detectives from the Major Crime Bureau mourned the death of one of their detectives, Robert "Bob" Curran, who died of natural causes while on vacation in North Carolina. Austin L. Miller covers public safety and can be reached at austin.miller@starbanner.com or 867-4118.

Sounds like one of the good guys. :beer for trying to make the world a better place and giving the ultimate sacrifice. Guys like these should be buried next to Vets in Arlington IMO.

http://www.r1-forum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=69482

Shane, here is todays article. Article published Feb 9, 2004 Seeking answers Neighbors recall shootings that killed deputy, elderly man OCALA - Mary Ann Bradshaw didn't want to take her eyes off the two deputies who had positioned themselves near the side kitchen door of her neighbor's manufactured home in Pine Run Saturday afternoon. Bradshaw knew something had gone terribly wrong at Ivan K. Gotham's house. Weeks earlier, Gotham had been released from a Brooksville mental hospital and had been wandering the neighborhood looking for companionship. At about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, she watched as the two deputies tried to talk to the armed 74-year-old retiree inside the house. She turned for a second, heard a shot and then noticed there was only one deputy standing there. The remaining deputy ran behind Gotham's car, a silver Toyota parked under the carport just a few feet from the kitchen door. ''Hey, get inside the house. He's got a gun,'' the deputy yelled at Bradshaw. She hurried inside and continued watching the events through a window. ''I grabbed my camera and began taking pictures out of every window,'' she said. On the other side of Gotham's car, lying motionless on a concrete path, was Marion County sheriff's Deputy Brian R. Litz. He was in front of the house along Southwest 104th Place. Sources close to the investigation said it appears that Litz was standing near the front window, around the corner from the door where they negotiating with Gotham. Gotham fired through the front window and the bullet struck Litz just above his bulletproof vest, the sources said. Soon after Litz went down, Bradshaw saw two more deputies, both with black vests and rifles, run up behind the car and then beside the door. ''They quickly stuck the barrels of those big guns through the kitchen door window and yelled something, maybe drop the weapon or something, and then the guns started going off,'' Bradshaw said. Gotham was killed in the volley of gunfire. Seconds later, she watched as deputies carried Litz to the street. He was quickly loaded into an ambulance and rushed with a police escort to Munroe Regional Medial Center, where he was pronounced dead. WELL-BEING CHECK Sheriff's Office spokesman Lenny Uptagraft said Deputy Jeff Tuman was dispatched to the house after Gotham's youngest son, Gary Gotham, called from his Virginia home to report that he hadn't been able to reach his father for two days. Gary Gotham told the Sheriff's Office his father had a gun. When a gun is involved, dispatchers automatically send backup. In this case it was Litz, who happened to get to the scene just before Tuman. From that point, the details are sketchy. The Sheriff's Office has released limited information on the case, which is also under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Litz was the first on the scene and ''attempted unsuccessfully'' to initiate a dialogue with Gotham, Uptagraft said in a press release. "Deputy Tuman and other deputies arrived on scene and were assisting Deputy Litz when shots were fired from the residence, with at least one striking Deputy Litz.'' ''I can say the officers did a good job," Bradshaw said. "But it's a shame it had to end that way.'' Betsy Clarke, who lives two houses from Ivan Gotham, said the man was odd but friendly, ''sometimes too friendly.'' She said she feels bad for Ivan Gotham but believes the deputies did everything they could to prevent the incident from happening. ''I commend the Sheriff's Office for doing what they had to do,'' said Clarke, who moved to Pine Run from Maine in November. On Sunday, Uptagraft said four other Sheriff's Office employees were at the scene of the shooting — Deputy Jeff Tuman, Deputy David White, Sgt. Darin Vitale and Capt. Mike Deen. The men were placed on routine administrative leave with pay. Uptagraft said he did not know whether all four fired into the house or which of them fatally shot Gotham. FDLE officials would not comment Sunday about their investigation. The Sheriff's Office is conducting its own investigation. Administrators will review the findings to see if any new policies should be adopted, Uptagraft said. ''We're moving slow and methodically to make sure we know exactly how it all transpired,'' he said. A BELOVED DEPUTY Litz, a nine-year veteran, is described by his peers as a fun-loving man who was dedicated to his job in the K-9 Unit. Among the 150-plus patrol officers, Litz and the other six K-9 officers often boasted about how special their jobs were. Marion County patrol officers generally do not have partners. ''He always said, 'The K-9 Unit is the best because you always have a partner,' '' Uptagraft said. ''He touched a lot of people. He was dedicated and loved to come to work every day and even took time off-duty to do programs at schools.'' One sign of Litz's love of children came just 10 days ago, when he and his tracking and bomb-sniffing dog, Justice, gave a demonstration at the First United Methodist Church preschool. The children sent Litz a card, which had children's thumb prints with hand-drawn doggy ears and their names attached. He never received it. Litz had hidden a fake bomb in a podium and Justice had sniffed it out, much to the children's delight, said preschool teacher Barbara Mudie. She was shocked and saddened by the shooting. "He was great with the kids," Mudie said. "You could see the love that he had for his dog and how proud he was of his job." Some of the children had seen on the news that Litz was killed, and her class will talk about it a little on Monday. There's a card, she said, "that I'm going to have my children sign, because he was so great with the kids that I feel that his wife would like to have something like that." One Georgia woman recently sent Litz a letter that was put in his personnel file. In it, she said her mother was the victim of domestic violence by his father. The couple had been married 31 years but suddenly the man became abusive. Litz stopped by and talked to her mother, convincing her she needed to get out of the home until her husband could get some help. ''Mom misses him but knows this is not the man she married 31 years ago,'' the letter states. ''Thank you for being so kind and considerate to mom. You were instrumental in breaking those ties and setting her free and living like she deserves.'' Uptagraft said the Sheriff's Office had been making plans to move Justice to another handler but Litz's wife, Cherie, and his 5-year-old son, Brian, asked that they be allowed to take the dog home. Litz was first hired as a part-time bailiff in October 1994 and became a deputy the following June. He transferred to the K-9 Unit in 2001. He was awarded three Eagle Eye awards, honors that Sheriff Ed Dean gives his deputies for outstanding work. One Eagle Eye was given to Litz after a family lost $265 during a burglary, spoiling the birthday of one of the children. Litz gave the mother $25 at the scene that night so she could buy her child a Winnie the Pooh birthday cake. Uptagraft said that, soon after the shooting incident on Saturday, Dean talked to several employees in the dispatch center. The Sheriff's Office provides counseling for employees who need intervention after such a tragedy. Funeral services are planned for Thursday, Uptagraft said. The Deputy Brian R. Litz Memorial Fund has been established at Compass Bank on Southwest 19th Avenue Road. Chief Local News Editor Joe Byrnes contributed to this report. Joe Callahan can be reached at joe.callahan@starbanner.com or paged at 898-9649.