Remembering Deputy Christopher Taylor one year after tragic death

Reporter: Claire Galt
Published: Updated:
Deputy Christopher Taylor. (Credit: CCSO)

It has been one year since Charlotte County Sheriff’s Deputy Christopher Taylor was tragically killed in the line of duty on

Wink News talked to Deputy Taylor’s close friends and colleagues about losing him and how they keep his memory alive.

“He was definitely goofy, silly, kind of carefree. He loved fishing. He loved going line dancing,” said Kacie Spiers, a Friend of Deputy Taylor.

On November 22, 2022, Taylor was killed when a drunk driver killed the 23-year-old deputy.

“I had spoken to him like that night right before he went on shift. It was like a night shift,” Spiers said.

He was performing a traffic stop along 75 North near the Jones Loop exit when crash investigators say Cassandra Smith crossed three lanes of traffic and hit him.

“It was a day that you never want to relive, and you never want to have to experience it again,” said Corporal Shelly Havel.

Havel was first on the scene. She said learning, hearing, and seeing what happened to her friend and her fellow deputy still hurts.

Sergeant Brad Stender said thinking about that day will forever haunt him.

“We miss him. We miss him tremendously. He was a part of our family, a part of our squad,” Stender said.

“I’d want him to be remembered just as a very happy guy who always went after his dreams and didn’t let anyone stop him,” Kacie said.

They all said he was kind, smart, and died a hero.

Taylor’s fellow Charlotte County deputies said Chris wanted to be a cop since he knew what a cop was.

They hope to do the cop title justice in his name.

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