Slain during traffic stop, Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers and others remembered at memorial

It was a shooting that galvanized tiny Callahan as well as Nassau County — Deputy Joshua Moyers mortally wounded when the man he stopped shortly before midnight on Sept. 23 on Sandy Ford Road shot him in the face and back.

Recently engaged and only 29, the red-haired lawman died days later as hundreds of deputies and officers from Nassau and surrounding counties continued searching for his killer with K-9s, helicopters and on foot.

The death of one of Callahan's familiar and dedicated deputies came only seven months after Nassau County Sheriff's Office Deputy Jack Gwynes died from complications of COVID-19.

But their memories were revived Thursday morning as the families of Moyers and Gwynes unveiled plaques in their names on a memorial wall, bringing the number of those with badges who have died in the line of duty in Nassau County to 11.

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"Because of the oath we take we are ready to out ourselves in harm's way every day. It is part of the responsibility to the community we serve," Sheriff Bill Leeper said after the unveilings. "... Unfortunately today we add two more names to our memorial wall."

Memories of those killed

The Sheriff’s Office's annual Law Enforcement Memorial Service honors officers or deputies who gave their lives to the citizens of Nassau County, including Deputy Sheriff Joseph Robinson, killed in 1891, and Fernandina Beach Police Chief James Surrency, killed in 1930.

It had been five years since anyone else had been added, the ninth and last being Deputy Eric James Oliver, killed Nov. 22, 2016. But this year the community and their fellow deputies had fresh, sad memories of two more deputies gone as they gathered in front of the fallen officers memorial wall at the Sheriff's Office's Yulee headquarters.

Moyers succumbed to his injuries on Sept. 26, officials said. Patrick Rene McDowell, 35, of Jacksonville was arrested a few days later.

Moyers' fiancee and family did not wish to speak after the ceremony. But Sgt. T.J. Zittrower, a friend since high school, said they had both "wanted to be cops." They worked together for years, backing "each other up all the time."

"He loved doing what he did. He was born and raised in Hilliard, so this was his home," said Zittrower, with Moyers' badge number — 1205 — pinned on his badge.

"I never would have guessed in a million years that I would see his name on the wall," he added. "In the short time that I have been here, we have had three from Nassau die. ... I never would have thought any of that would have happened. I will remember him. He was one of my best friends ."

Gwynes had lost his life earlier in 2021, dying on Feb. 3 from complications due to COVID-19. Lovingly called "Grumpy" by fellow deputies, he worked with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office until joining Nassau County in 2019. His family did not wish to speak, but Leeper said he knew Gwynes since he came on the force.

"He was a very friendly guy, just a great person," the sheriff said. "Unfortunately he contracted COVID-19 while working as a bailiff and he passed away. He was a great guy."

Risking their lives every day

When the Sheriff's Office built its new headquarters in 2017 near the county government office, Leeper had a plaza with a memorial wall and flagpoles installed in front. Its first new plaque was for Oliver, who died on Nov. 17, 2016, while pursuing an illegal immigrant across Florida 200. His father unveiled it at 2017's memorial.

This year dozens of law enforcement officers from Nassau County, Fernandina Beach, the Florida Highway Patrol and state agencies gathered in front of the Sheriff's Office for the 30-minute memorial. Behind the wall, 616 small American flags were planted in the lawn representing officers killed nationwide last year in the line of duty.

Parked on the grass nearby was the police cruiser Moyers was using the night he was shot, now redone as the department's honor guard transport with the 11 names of the fallen officers on its windows. It will travel with the honor guard to the May 15 National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol, where Moyers and Gwynes will also be honored.

Leeper added that Nassau County's wall is a "powerful and humbling reminder" of the risk officers and deputies take in Nassau County every day.

"We are not perfect and we do not claim to be," he said. "But we give a damn and are willing to risk it all, including the risk that one of our names ends up on this memorial wall. I pray to God that no one else is ever added to this wall again."

Fernandina Beach Police Chief Mark Foxworth also spoke, asking the community to understand that local law enforcement are neighbors and friends who protect them. He thanked the officers and deputies "whose daily sacrifices do not go unnoticed." And to the families of those remembered on the wall, he wished them comfort in their loss.

Then after all 11 names on it were read, a Nassau County dispatcher radioed for a moment of silence "for our fallen heroes." The only sound was the flapping of flags at half-staff before her somber voice was heard again.

"May you all rest in peace," she said.

Tributes to other local officers

Wednesday's ceremony came a week after the Florida Sheriffs Association held its annual memorial on April 24 at its Tallahassee headquarters.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office remembered its 64 fallen members on April 11 at the Fallen Officers Memorial Wall at 300 A. Philip Randolph Blvd. The name of Auxiliary Sgt. Louis Livatino, who died on Jan. 27 following complications caused by the COVID-19 virus, was unveiled.

The Clay County Sheriff's Office memorial for its nine fallen members is at 10 a.m. Thursday at Spring Park at 106 St. Johns Ave. in Green Cove Springs.

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

Remembered on Nassau's wall

• Deputy Joseph W. Robinson (May 16, 1891): The first Nassau County deputy killed in the line of duty, shot while apprehending a violent fugitive in Fernandina Beach.

• Deputy Jasper N. Higginbotham (July 21, 1895): Shot in the Callahan area while attempting to arrest someone on a warrant.

• Deputy Everett E. Johns (Dec. 6, 1905): Shot on Amelia Island attempting to apprehend someone on a warrant.

• Fernandina Beach Police Department Chief James Surrency (Dec. 8, 1930): Shot while responding to a murder call in Fernandina Beach.

• Hilliard Police Constable Alfred H. Crews (Nov. 1, 1952): Killed in an automobile crash.

• Deputy Jeremiah Mattox (March 13, 1954): Shot after responding to a domestic dispute in Fernandina Beach.

• Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Charles Parks (Feb. 6, 1973): Shot during apprehension of two armed robbery suspects.

• Chief Bailiff Lewis Hailey (Sept. 15, 1992): Killed in an automobile crash.

• Deputy Eric Oliver (Nov. 22, 2016): Hit and killed by a vehicle while chasing a suspect in Yulee.

• Deputy Sheriff Jack Gwynes (Feb. 3, 2021): Died from complications due to the COVID-19 virus while working as a bailiff in the courthouse.

• Deputy Joshua Moyers, shot during a traffic stop and died Sept. 26.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Joshua Moyers, slain Nassau deputy, others honored on memorial wall