The suspect accused of shooting and critically injuring a Fort Myers Police Officer was an avid boxer with the Police Athletic League in Fort Myers.
If you look up the suspect, Wisner Desmaret, on YouTube, you'll see many videos of him winning boxing matches.
People who knew him in the ring said he was a boxer through the Police Athletic League, a program meant to keep kids off the streets and strengthen ties between law enforcement and the community.
"He actually came into the gym to get out of trouble like a lot of people did back then," Bryant Perrella, who boxed with Desmaret, said.
"They called this guy the Haitian Sensation. He was a heck of a boxer," Terrace Myles, a reporter with our news partner Hello SWFL, said.
Myles spent Tuesday talking to Desmaret's coaches and mentors in the Police Athletic League.
"Every day he was wearing an ankle bracelet while he's practicing, but still trying to continue to have a better life while boxing," Myles said. "What I looked into today, he was on a good path to a better life."
Myles found Perrella boxing at Syndicate Boxing Club in Fort Myers. He said he knew Desmaret from the sport ten years ago.
"He had a lot of natural power. He actually fought a lot of times with us, and we went to fights and stuff and he was knocking everybody out in all his fights," Perrella said.
He remembers Desmaret as a goofy guy who always had everyone laughing.
"He didn't seem like a guy that would do what they said he did - shooting a police officer. But it's shocking," Perrella said.
Myles reached out to Desmaret's boxing coach, but he said he hung up on him.
