Deputies clear scene where colleague was killed in the line of duty

WINK News is remembering the life of Charlotte County deputy Elio Diaz, after deputies have left the scene following an hours-long investigation.

A husband and father of four, Diaz died in the line of duty when he was shot and killed during a traffic stop.

A single white cross was placed in his honor at the Chevron gas station where the shooting occurred, across the street from the Sunseeker resort.

Sheriff Bill Prummell posthumously promoted Corporal Diaz to sergeant.

WINK News knows he has family in the area, but we are still working to find out how this traffic stop turned deadly.

The suspect’s truck has been removed from the Popeyes parking lot where he was found by deputies and killed when he reached for a rifle.

Caution tape has been taken down and most of the deputies have left the scene, but Popeyes remains closed.

Sunday was a different scene. Deputies, detectives and crime scene technicians worked through the somber time.

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One witness, Angel Martin, was there with her husband and 1-year-old daughter. She explained it was one of the saddest but scariest moments she’s experienced.

“I still was kind of oblivious on what’s going on, and I look out the window and I see my husband actually jumping in front of my van and screaming and yelling and pointing down the road, and everybody’s just screaming, running out of the store, and that’s when I come out the store, and then I see the officer down the ground.”

As these scenes start to clear up, the loss of Diaz remains in everyone’s minds and hearts.