Walton County • Florida

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The training department also accomplished the following during 2009:
• Issued and trained 94 personnel on Tasers.
• Issued and trained 47 personnel on Patrol Rifles to date.
• Developed and implemented a Block Training program that trained 71 members in five months.
• Developed and implemented a comprehensive Defensive Tactics program. To date we have trained 14 employees.
• Developed and implemented a two-week in-house training academy for new employee’s prior to their entering the Field Training
and Evaluation Program (FTEP.)
UNIFORM PATROL DIVISION
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Uniform Patrol Division consists of eighty-one members; one captain, four watch commanders,
twelve sergeants, and sixty-four deputies. Captain Robert Butler leads the Patrol division. This year the Patrol Division implemented
four twelve hour shifts. Each shift is manned with a watch commander, who covers the entire county. The northern district of the county
is covered by one sergeant and seven deputies, the central district is covered with one sergeant and three deputies, and the southern
district is covered with one sergeant and six deputies each shift.
Deputies have undergone a minimum of forty hours of hands on training in 2009. Deputies are
required to attend a week of in-service block training, which encompasses all FDLE mandatory
training, firearm, CPR, Constitutional Law, and force on force training. In addition to block
training deputies received patrol rifle training, Glock, and defensive tactics training this year.
In 2009 the patrol division made some substantial changes to the equipment used by the deputies
and replaced all old out-dated equipment. Deputies are now carrying a Glock pistol. Bushmaster
patrol rifles and X26 tasers are now being issued to all deputies and the in-car computers are
being converted to Toughbook computers.
This year there were four officer involved shootings. The first occurred when a Deputy responded to a
residence North of DeFuniak Springs off of State Highway 83, in reference to a subject with a firearm
threatening suicide. Upon arrival to the residence, the Deputy was confronted by the armed male
subject. The subject refused to comply with the Deputy’s orders, raised his gun at the Deputy, and the
Deputy responded by firing his service pistol at the subject, striking him once in the arm.
The second shooting occurred when two Okaloosa County deputies were shot and killed by a man they were trying to arrest. The suspect
fled and was intercepted by Walton County Deputies. The deputies rammed the suspects’ car and a shootout ensued, ending when the
suspect took his own life.
The third is when a Deputy responded to a domestic call in Freeport and the suspect refused to comply with his orders and confronted him.
The final officer involved shooting, occurred when officers found a bank robber sleeping in his truck and shots were fired. This lead to
a high speed chase and a three day manhunt that ended when the suspect took his own life.
Patrol Deputies perform many services for the citizens of Walton County. This year the patrol division made over three thousand
arrest total, of which two hundred were DUI arrest. In addition to these arrests, patrol deputies also:.
• Assisted over 4,200 citizens with various needs such as: disabled vehicles, changing tires, giving directions
• Provided escorts for 120 funeral processions