FOX 4 is learning more about Sgt. Elio Diaz - the Charlotte County deputy shot and killed on Sunday following a traffic stop.
Career:
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office says Elio Diaz was with the department for 11 years and three months - becoming a Corporal in January of 2020.
He served on Road Patrol, Investigations, STAR (Strategic Target Area Response) and on the Crisis Negotiations Team.
Diaz earned Law Enforcement Member of the month in December of 2015. He was also Member of the Quarter twice in 2023, once in the first quarter and then again in the third quarter.
He was posthumously promoted to Sergeant by Sheriff Bill Prummell.
Prummell took office as Sheriff in January 2013, just eight months before Diaz was hired.
WATCH BELOW TO SEE WHAT WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT SGT. ELIO DIAZ:
Personal Life:
Sgt. Elio Diaz was a father of four and a husband.
"He had a personality that was bigger than any situation. Diaz loved to laugh and make others laugh," the sheriff's office said. "He was famous around the agency for his homemade Cuban coffee. When he brought some into the office, members would line up to get a cup."
The department also describes Diaz as a genuine, and kind person who truly loved what he did.
The sheriff's office says Diaz signed up to participate in Shop With A Cop every year, and went to the event just a week before his death.
He had a passion for his career that was "outweighed only by his love of his family."
Community Impact:
"Sick to my stomach."
That's how Charlotte County Commissioner Bill Truex says he woke up this morning, less than 24 hours after the death of Diaz.
Truex says he only met Diaz once or twice, but knows the impact he has had on the community.
"It’s going to be time for us to all pull together in whatever way, shape or form we can to assist the family and heal the community," Truex said. "People don't forget these things."
In his years as a commissioner, the sheriff's office has lost three deputies in the line of duty.
This death, Truex says, brings him back to 2013 when Deputy Mike Wilson was killed responding to a domestic violence call.
To honor Diaz, Truex says there are some things in the works behind the scene that will hopefully come to fruition, but wants to speak to the family and Sheriff Prummell first about how to properly memorialize Diaz.
"I certainly want to make sure that we honor Corporal Diaz in some manner," Truex said. "I’m kind of at a loss for words other than we’re here to help and I just want to keep sending up prayers and whatever we can do."
Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell tearfully announced Diaz's passing on Sunday night.
You can watch here:
