Florida manhunt seeks cop killer

LAKELAND, Fla. – A man who had been pulled over for a traffic violation shot two sheriff’s deputies Thursday, killing one of them and prompting an intensive manhunt that forced a lockdown at three schools, officials said.

Authorities told residents to lock themselves in their homes as officers swarmed the rural area. The gunman remained at large.

The shooter was first approached during a traffic stop for speeding, officials said. The deputy became suspicious of the man’s ID, and the suspect bolted into thick brush.

That deputy and another who arrived seconds later with a police dog chased the suspect.

As the officers tracked him, there was a “burst of gunfire,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. The first deputy returned fire, and both deputies and the dog were shot. Judd said the slain deputy was Vernon Matthew “Matt” Williams, 39.

“If he had been in the ER or the operating room, it wouldn’t have made a difference,” Judd said. “He was shot multiple times. I don’t believe he felt a thing.”

The deputy who made the traffic stop, Douglas Speirs, 39, was treated for a gunshot wound to the leg and released Thursday evening.