Deputy Back on Job After Fighting for His Life

Aug. 22, 2016
Brevard County Sheriff's Agent Casey Smith, who was critically injured in an incident that nearly took his life last year, has returned to the job.

A Brevard County, Florida Sheriff's agent who was critically injured in an incident that nearly took his life last year returned to the job last week.

Agent Casey Smith responded to a home in the Port. St. John and was assisting in arresting a suspect the evening of Aug. 20, 2015 when an individual inside the home opened fire, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Smith was shot multipule times and was gravely wounded. On the way to the hospital, the deputy "coded" and was revived by the Brevard County Fire Rescue personel. Once at Wuesthoff Hospital, he "coded" again and was saved by the medical team and surgeons at who were able to stabilize his condition before he was transfered to Orlando Regional Medical Center.

After repeated surgeries and recovering, Smith returned to work just days before the one-year anniversary of the shooting.

Sheriff Wayne Ivey wrote the below message to announce Smith's return to the force:

Today, on the anniversary of this extremely violent incident that nearly took the life of one of our community's heroes, I am proud and overjoyed to say that Casey is back on his feet, back to work, and back to doing what he loves!! Casey started back to work earlier this week with our agency and we are excited to have him back as he continues his career path as a proud member of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office!!

As most of you will recall, during the late evening hours of August 20th, 2015, Agents from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office were in the Port St. John area attempting to arrest a subject, when an individual from inside the residence opened fire on the Agents. Agent Casey Smith was shot multiple times and was in grave condition. In fact, Casey "coded" on the way to the hospital and was revived by an incredible team from Brevard County Fire Rescue. Once at the hospital, Casey "coded" again and was this time saved by an incredible medical team and surgeons at Wuesthoff Hospital who were able to stabilize his condition so he could be transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center where another incredible team worked diligently to save his life.

Now a year later, after repeated surgeries and courageously fighting for his life Casey is back at work today because he had great partners, great first responders from BCFR, great surgeons, great medical staff, great friends, great family, a great community, great faith, and an incredible "never quit" attitude!! If you have never met Casey he is an incredibly humble man with a huge heart. He hates all the attention and credits his partners and many others with saving his life. He loves his family, being a cop and he loves being a member of the Brevard County Sheriff's Office!!

As this incident unfolded our agency and Casey were overwhelmed by a show of community support like I have never seen before. In just days after the incident over 500 people donated blood to help save his life, donations arrived to help the family, prayers came in amazing volumes, other agencies offered their assistance, and our friends in the media graciously kept our community updated on Casey's condition while being ever so careful to respect the family's privacy and emotions. Our community's response and compassion for Casey and our agency should be used as a model for other communities to use when facing critical incidents. I have always believed that "It Takes A Community To Protect A Community" and this incident gave a profound example of what happens when a community comes together to help one of their own during a time of need!!

While there are so many people that played a vital role in saving Casey's life I would be extremely remiss if I did not talk about his wife Michelle who is his biggest fan and was without question his rock throughout this horrific ordeal. She worked with Doctors to develop Casey's survival strategy, ran the family business, maintained the foundation of their family and all the while did everything with poise, grace, dignity, firmness, and a "Momma Bear" attitude that at times kept all of us (including me) grounded and on point. She stood beside Casey through some of the toughest challenges of his life and today can breath a sigh of relief as he is back to doing what he loves because of her incredible strength and faith!! Great job "Momma Bear!!"

Please join me in welcoming Agent Casey Smith back to work and please know how much we as an agency appreciate all our community did to support us during this difficult time!!

Sheriff Wayne Ivey

Sponsored Recommendations

Build Your Real-Time Crime Center

March 19, 2024
A checklist for success

Whitepaper: A New Paradigm in Digital Investigations

July 28, 2023
Modernize your agency’s approach to get ahead of the digital evidence challenge

A New Paradigm in Digital Investigations

June 6, 2023
Modernize your agency’s approach to get ahead of the digital evidence challenge.

Listen to Real-Time Emergency 911 Calls in the Field

Feb. 8, 2023
Discover advanced technology that allows officers in the field to listen to emergency calls from their vehicles in real time and immediately identify the precise location of the...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Officer, create an account today!