Overview
- Deputies, backed by K-9 Ace, tracked 27-year-old Angel Bowers to a tent in woods near Rushing Road and encountered gunfire from inside the shelter.
- During the Thursday evening confrontation, deputies returned fire, fatally wounding Bowers, and the three human deputies were not injured.
- Ace was shot in a front leg, rushed to Parkway Veterinary Emergency Clinic, then flown by Tampa General Aeromed to the Veterinary Medical Center at Lakewood Ranch for advanced care.
- Veterinarians found the leg irreparably damaged, performed an amputation, and Ace — a seven-year-old German Shepherd assigned since March 2020 — has been retired from service.
- The 10th Judicial Circuit Officer Involved Deadly Incident task force is conducting an active review, while the Wiltse Family Trust and Polk Sheriff’s Charities have pledged to cover Ace’s care and fund a replacement K-9.