Local law enforcement react to Fort Myers Police Chief Derrick Diggs' sudden death

Following the news surrounding the sudden death of Fort Myers Police Chief Derrick Diggs, local law enforcement agencies are reflecting on his impact in Southwest Florida.

He worked closely with area agencies, including Lee and Collier sheriff's offices, Cape Coral Police Department and the State Attorney's Office, 20th Judicial Circuit.

Fort Myers Police on Thursday disclosed Diggs' cause of death was cancer. He died Wednesday ProMedica Toledo Hospital, in Toledo, Ohio, according to his obituary. A memorial service is planned for Fort Myers, it said.

Diggs, 67, had been on a leave of absence from the police department for the past seven months. He confirmed a leave of absence in an Aug. 19, 2022, email.

Passages:Derrick Diggs, Fort Myers police chief, dies while on leave

Public reaction:Public reacts to news that Fort Myers Police Chief Derrick Diggs has died

He cited that he is "handling some important personal matters," according to that email.

Liz Bello-Matthews, spokesperson for the city, at the time said Diggs' return was expected within  "weeks."

Deputy Chief Randall Pepitone,  acting chief of police, is expected to continue in the post until the City Council makes a decision on a successor.

Here's how other local law enforcement agencies reacted:

Lee County Sheriff's Office

During a one-on-one interview with The News-Press, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno expressed his condolences for the late police chief, his family and coworkers.

"Chief Diggs and I have worked together for a number of years," Marceno said. "And Chief Diggs has 46 years of law enforcement. That's more than double a career of someone that worked up north ... Usually it's 20 years and you retire."

He said they had a working relationship from the start on multiple cases.

"His untimely death is devastating," Marceno said. "I knew that he was battling an ailment. I didn't know to what extent, and I assumed and thought that he was coming back."

Marceno said hearing of his passing is "a devastating hit to the entire law enforcement community."

During this time, he added, he's offered the Sheriff's Office's resources to Pepitone.

"I told him I wanted to give him everything that we possibly could, manpower, whatever it might be, so that they can get through this difficult time," Marceno said. "And they can take this time to grieve, because it's going to be a grieving process."

Marceno said it's "just a sad day."

"I look at a picture of him and I online ... We were both at an event together and we were receiving an award together," Marceno said. "He's standing right next to me. It's a fellow family member, someone that I'll never see again. So it's very heartfelt."

Marceno said Diggs' death makes one "really stop to think how precious life is."

"In this line of work, unfortunately, we see a lot of tragedy. We see death, we see destruction," Marceno said. "But when you see it hit so close to home, that fellow brother or sister, it just takes it to another level and it doesn't just go away because now we mourn as an entire law enforcement community."

Since Diggs announced his leave, Marceno said he offered Pepitone help providing manpower and resources.

"I think of the Jobbers-Miller incident when we basically can take our manpower and deploy them so that we can take calls in the city and handle the calls that are coming in," Marceno said, using the killing of Fort Myers Police officer Adam Jobbers-Miller along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fort Myers on July 21, 2018.

Marceno said he was "literally on scene at the very tail end" when Jobbers-Miller died as they performed surgery at the hospital.

"In this alpha-personality career, sometimes people don't get along, they have differences of opinion," Marceno said. "But when something traumatic happens, if there's any kind of difference of opinion, they're gone."

Marceno said they bond as a family.

He said he was in a meeting when he found out about Diggs' death.

"I was in my Major Crime Unit, having a meeting, and one of the detectives said, 'Did you hear Chief Diggs passed away? And I paused," Marceno said. "It was shocking to me. I immediately called Acting Chief Pepitone. And I could tell immediately in his voice that he was distraught."

Marceno said he again offered his help Wednesday.

" I told him we're always going to be here for you, every step of the way," he said. "It was just a real difficult call."

Marceno said he is ready for the next chapter.

"I know it's going to be a very difficult time," Marceno said. "And we will come together. We're stronger together. And we will get through this."

Cape Coral Police

Cape Coral Police shared its condolences on social media.

"On behalf of Chief Anthony Sizemore, and the entire Cape Coral Police Department, our thoughts and prayers are with the Fort Myers Police Department during this difficult time," Cape Coral Police wrote.

They added that Diggs is a "significant loss to the Fort Myers Police Department and the community."

"Chief Derrick Diggs, you will be missed," they wrote in closing.

Collier County Sheriff's Office

Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk reflected on the collaborative work between the two law enforcement agencies.

"Fort Myers Police Chief Derrick Diggs was a tremendous partner in our Southwest Florida law enforcement community and I am saddened to learn of his passing," Rambosk wrote in a Facebook statement. "Chief Diggs and I collaborated on several investigations and he was always committed to criminal justice and community safety."

Among CCSO's collaborative work was the housing of Wisner Desmaret, 34, accused of killing Jobbers-Miller.

Florida Highway Patrol

During an unrelated Thursday morning news conference, Lt. Greg Bueno, spokesperson for the Florida Highway Patrol, took a moment to reflect on Diggs' impact.

"On behalf of the Florida Highway Patrol, we'd like to express our sincere condolences to the family of Chief Diggs and the men and women of the Fort Myers police department," Bueno said. "Many of us have worked with Chief Diggs over the years and know him personally, and we are of course deeply saddened of his loss."

In an email, Bueno told The News-Press he called Fort Myers Police Wednesday morning to express his agency's condolences.

He added that he brought some flowers as an additional expression of their "heartfelt sympathy for his family and the staff of FMPD."

State Attorney's Office

“The State Attorney’s Office is deeply saddened by the passing of Fort Myers Police Chief Derrick Diggs," State Attorney Amira Fox of the 20th Judicial Circuit said in a news release. "He was a tremendous partner with us in the criminal justice system and served our community with excellence and honor. He will be dearly missed and he leaves an everlasting legacy of leadership in the city of Fort Myers."

She, too, offered the Fort Myers Police Department assistance in the loss.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Local law enforcement reactions pour in after FMPD chief dies