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Polk Marks Anniversary Of Deputy's Slaying

Billy Townsend/Tribune photo

A photo of Matt Williams sits on a table outside the Polk sheriff's office northwest command center durign Friday ceremony.

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By BILLY TOWNSEND | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 28, 2007

Previous Coverage:Arrests Linked To Slaying Of Deputy | Photo Gallery

LAKELAND - It has been a year since Polk County Deputy Doug Speirs stopped a man in a rental car for speeding on 10th Street in north Lakeland, a routine moment of law enforcement work that set off one of the darkest days in Polk County history.

That man, later identified as a violent drug trafficker named Angilo Freeland, fled from Speirs and ran into a densely wooded area. K-9 Deputy Matt Williams was called in to track Freeland with his police dog, DiOGi. Williams had raised and trained DiOGi since he was a puppy.

Together they entered the woods just before noon, with Speirs following. A few minutes later, Williams and DiOGi were dead, ambushed near an uprooted tree by Freeland, who was armed with a handgun. Speirs was wounded in the leg moments later after exchanging fire with Freeland, who then fled farther into the woods.

Today, a crowd of deputies and police officers mixed with the public to mark the somber anniversary.

"It's been a long year," said Capt. Kevin Widner, commander of the sheriff's office northwest regional office. The north Lakeland station was Williams' base of operation.

It will bear his name and DiOGi's from now on. Williams' family joined Sheriff Grady Judd in unveiling a plaque next to the station's front door dedicating the building to Williams and DiOGi.

An 'Assassin'

Williams' shooting prompted one of the largest manhunts in Polk County history. Lasting nearly 24 hours, it filled the west Lakeland sky with helicopters, locked down schools and neighborhoods, and brought in hundreds of officers from law enforcement agencies across Florida.

It ended early the next morning, about 20 hours after the shooting of Williams and DiOGi, in a blizzard of automatic weapons fire. A group of officers found Freeland as he hid, armed with Williams' weapon, beneath another fallen tree, this one surrounded by thick, tangled underbrush.

Accounts differ as to what set off the shooting. Different officers recall seeing different things. They all agree that Freeland made no effort to surrender.

Once the shooting started, nine officers from five Florida law enforcement agencies inflicted 68 gunshot wounds to his head, torso and limbs, investigators said.

The Polk County State Attorney's Office ruled that the shooting was justified.

Assistant State Attorney Cass Castillo wrote in a brief letter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement: "When officers encountered Mr. Freeland, he was repeatedly instructed to show his hands. Mr. Freeland did not comply with those instructions but rather made a sudden movement which cited a reasonable fear on the part of the officers that violence was about to occur. The officers then immediately fired their weapons."

Investigation into Freeland's background found he was a drug dealer and feared enforcer with close ties to at least two violent street-level crime rings in Hernando and Orange counties. A multi-agency task force announced earlier this year that it had broken up the rings.

Freeland was born in Antigua, lived for a time in the U.S. Virgin Islands as a child, and apparently traveled back and forth between the Caribbean and the United States fairly regularly, investigators and his family have said.

Freeland worked with the drug gangs but was not a boss, Judd said. He said, however, that statements indicate many of those involved in the rings feared Freeland, whom Judd described as an "assassin."

"He would hurt you and get great pleasure out of it," Judd said.

Time To Heal

Williams left behind a wife and three teen and young adult children.

"It's been a hard year for them also," Widner said.

Civic groups, schools and individuals have raised thousands of dollars to help the family. An elementary school in Polk City, Williams' hometown, erected a monument to him and DiOGi. Bumper stickers with their faces can be seen throughout Polk County.

Today, a local country singer even sang a ballad she wrote in Williams' honor.

The Williams family has shied away from media coverage, preferring not to give interviews or talk publicly. But they have been very accommodating to the dozens of civic groups who have held events in honor of Williams and DiOGi.

Judd said all the community attention, although vital and appreciated, has become a strain on the family's efforts to move forward with their lives, particularly in recent months.

In fact, Judd said he had expected Nancy Williams not to attend the ceremony today, which also happens to be her birthday. "We thought she was going to be on a cruise. But she told me she really wanted to be here for it," Judd said.

Judd said he doesn't want to discourage community groups from honoring Williams or honoring the family. But he did ask that they funnel events through the sheriff's office.

"She needs time to heal," Judd said.

Reporter Billy Townsend can be reached at (863) 284-1409.

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