Deputy suspended over response to Caracus Court shooting

A Leon County deputy was disciplined for failing to respond appropriately to the fatal shooting of Deputy Chris Smith, according to the Sheriff's Office.

On Nov. 22, Curtis Wade Holley set fire to a home on Caracus Court as part of a plot to ambush and kill first responders. Smith, 47, and Deputy Colin Wulfekuhl were the first two arrive on the scene. Smith was shot and killed immediately; Wulfekuhl was shot in the back but was saved by his bulletproof vest. After a 12-minute gun battle on the northwest Tallahassee cul-de-sac, Holley was shot and killed by off-duty Tallahassee Police Department Officer Scott Angulo.

Deputy Robert Patterson was among officers summoned to the scene after Smith was killed. The Sheriff's Office later became aware that Patterson "may not have engaged" Holley as required by policy, said Lt. James McQuaig, spokesman for the agency.

An internal-affairs investigation found that Patterson violated a policy involving the endangerment of others through neglect of job duties. Patterson was suspended without pay for 40 hours and reassigned as a correctional officer at the county jail, where he'd worked a number of years before becoming a patrol deputy, the Sheriff's Office said.

"He failed to take appropriate action in response to the emergency situation where there was a known danger to the lives of others," said Maj. Bobby Long, general counsel for the Sheriff's Office. "He was responding to an officer-down call. The deputy was already down at the time that he was responding to the call."

It was not immediately clear when Patterson was suspended; the Sheriff's Office said he was back on the job this week. The Tallahassee Democrat has requested records involving Patterson and the IA investigation.

Patterson appealed the disciplinary action, and a hearing was held Monday and Tuesday before a five-member career-service board. The board upheld the disciplinary action imposed by Sheriff Mike Wood.

Last month, a Leon County grand jury found that employees with the Consolidated Dispatch Agency could have saved Smith's life if they had relayed crucial officer-safety information to Smith when he responded to the house fire.

Two weeks before Smith was killed, the Sheriff's Office received a call warning that Holley had anti-government views, possessed guns and had threatened to kill officers if they came to his house. An officer-safety warning was placed in the dispatch system but three CDA employees failed to convey the warning to Smith. The three dispatchers were later fired; they have said they intend to sue over their termination.