A Charlotte County Sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty Sunday has been posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant.
The deputy, Elio Diaz, was killed by a man he had pulled over for a traffic stop Sunday afternoon.
“Please keep Elio and his family in your thoughts and prayers, especially during this time of year. Elio was a friend, good family man. He loved his children, and he was a really great cop," Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said at a media briefing after the shooting. "He will be missed."
During the stop a suspect, 24-year-old Andrew Mostyn Jr., pulled out a rifle and shot and mortally wounded Diaz.
Prummell says Mostyn was later found nearby at a Popeye's restaurant where he was shot and killed after pulling a weapon on deputies.
Additional information released by the Sheriff’s office said Diaz started as a deputy in September 2013, served on road patrol, investigations, STAR (Strategic Target Area Response), and was a member of the Crisis Negotiations Team. He became a corporal in January of 2020.
Diaz, 40, was a father of four and a husband.
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