BCSO Agent Casey Smith Back At Work After Battling For His Life One Year Ago
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard Sheriff // August 20, 2016
ABOVE VIDEO: Last October, Space Coast Daily had the opportunity to talk with Brevard County Sheriff’s Agent Casey Smith and his wife Michelle about their family’s harrowing ordeal – and Casey’s quest to get back to work.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Today, on the anniversary of this extremely violent incident that nearly took the life of one of our community’s heroes, I am proud and overjoyed to say that Casey is back on his feet, back to work, and back to doing what he loves!
Casey started back to work earlier this week with our agency and we are excited to have him back as he continues his career path as a proud member of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office!
As most of you will recall, during the late evening hours of August 20th, 2015, Agents from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office were in the Port St. John area attempting to arrest a subject, when an individual from inside the residence opened fire on the Agents.
Agent Casey Smith was shot multiple times and was in grave condition. In fact, Casey “coded” on the way to the hospital and was revived by an incredible team from Brevard County Fire Rescue.
ABOVE VIDEO: On Wednesday, Brevard County Sheriff’s Agent Casey Smith was welcomed back to Wuesthoff Hospital in Rockledge by CEO Gary Malaer and the entire Medical Team and Staff who saved his life after he was critically wounded in the line of duty in August of 2015. (SpaceCoastDaily Video)
Once at the hospital, Casey “coded” again and was this time saved by an incredible medical team and surgeons at Wuesthoff Hospital who were able to stabilize his condition so he could be transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center where another incredible team worked diligently to save his life.
Now a year later, after repeated surgeries and courageously fighting for his life Casey is back at work today because he had great partners, great first responders from BCFR, great surgeons, great medical staff, great friends, great family, a great community, great faith, and an incredible “never quit” attitude!
ABOVE VIDEO: Wuesthoff’s Stan Sherman D.O General Surgeon was one of the first doctors that worked on Casey Smith. He recounts Casey’s condition and what it means to be a doctor. (SpaceCoastDaily Video)
If you have never met Casey he is an incredibly humble man with a huge heart. He hates all the attention and credits his partners and many others with saving his life. He loves his family, being a cop and he loves being a member of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office!
As this incident unfolded our agency and Casey were overwhelmed by a show of community support like I have never seen before.
In just days after the incident over 500 people donated blood to help save his life, donations arrived to help the family, prayers came in amazing volumes, other agencies offered their assistance, and our friends in the media graciously kept our community updated on Casey’s condition while being ever so careful to respect the family’s privacy and emotions.
ABOVE VIDEO: Dwayne Badgett M.D., one of the other doctors who worked on Casey Smith was in attendance Wednesday to welcome back for the first time since that horrible night last August. (SpaceCoast Daily Video)
Our community’s response and compassion for Casey and our agency should be used as a model for other communities to use when facing critical incidents.
I have always believed that “It Takes A Community To Protect A Community” and this incident gave a profound example of what happens when a community comes together to help one of their own during a time of need!
Related Story:VIDEO: Agent Casey Smith Meets Wuesthoff Medical Team That Saved His Life In Last Year’s Shooting
While there are so many people that played a vital role in saving Casey’s life, I would be extremely remiss if I did not talk about his wife Michelle who is his biggest fan and was without question his rock throughout this horrific ordeal.
She worked with Doctors to develop Casey’s survival strategy, ran the family business, maintained the foundation of their family and all the while did everything with poise, grace, dignity, firmness, and a “Momma Bear” attitude that at times kept all of us (including me) grounded and on point.
ABOVE VIDEO: Robert Beatty M.D.discusses what is special about being in his line of work and what inspired him to help people. (SpaceCoastDaily Video)
She stood beside Casey through some of the toughest challenges of his life and today can breath a sigh of relief as he is back to doing what he loves because of her incredible strength and faith!! Great job “Momma Bear!!”
Please join me in welcoming Agent Casey Smith back to work and please know how much we as an agency appreciate all our community did to support us during this difficult time!
ABOVE VIDEO: In the coming days, over 500 citizens from Brevard County and Central Florida came together to donate blood as Casey faced surgery after surgery in his fight to survive.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft.
That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today. The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.
Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.
Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.
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