POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Two Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies who were hospitalized after being shot by a suspect early Saturday morning remain in the hospital, according to officials.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd provided an update on the conditions of the deputies Monday afternoon.
Lt. Chad Anderson was shot once in the arm, which went into his chest. The bullet was lodged between his heart and spinal column, according to Sheriff Judd. He has had two emergency surgeries and is currently in critical but stable condition.
Deputy Craig Smith was shot two times. He is in stable condition and has been moved out of intensive care, according to Sheriff Judd.
During a media briefing, Sheriff Grady Judd explained that there had been some burglaries in the area. Recently, the concession stands at Hunt Fountain Park in North Lakeland were burglarized, so the Sheriff's Office has increased its presence in the area.
The park closes at 10 p.m., and one deputy in the area noticed a vehicle at the location at about 12:22 a.m. Saturday morning.
When the deputy approached the man in the vehicle, he wouldn't cooperate with the deputy nor would he get out of the car, Judd said. Therefore, the deputy called for backup.
Anderson and Smith arrived, making it a total of four deputies, two trainees, and a K9 deputy at the scene.
The suspect, later identified as Kmac El Bey, 26, was homeless and a sovereign citizen.
"He (El Bey) was Moorish and Moorish sovereign citizens are known to believe that federal law, state law, local law does not apply to them," Judd said. "They are known to resist law enforcement."
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, members of the group “have engaged in violent confrontations with law enforcement.”
According to Judd, as deputies tried to coax El Bey from the vehicle, the vehicle started "rolling." Judd says deputies then grabbed the window of the car, and El Bey began shooting. Anderson and backup deputies returned fire.
"We shot and killed him," Judd said. "He chose that outcome and we obliged him."
El Bey's mother, Shalon Bess, says she was taken by complete surprise to learn of the incident.
“He was a good kid. He never gave me any trouble," Bess said in a phone interview. “He was an athlete in high school, he was a straight A student most of his life in school, he has awards.”
Bess lives in California, where she says her son had attended Fresno State for three years before he was apparently radicalized as a sovereign citizen and moved to Florida.
“Actually, I’m still in shock," she said. "Your worst nightmare as a parent to have something like this happen.”
She said she's upset at whoever led her son down the path he was on before he lost his life.
“I am upset about it, because look where my son’s at, and where were they?" she said.
In the interview, she also offered her apologies to the deputies injured in the shooting.
"I hope they have a speedy recovery," she said.
Monday, the sheriff said their recoveries will take several months.
Polk County Sheriff's Office has set up an official donation page to help the injured deputies with expenses. The donation site is www.polksheriff.org/donate.
