NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – Two men who worked beside Nassau County Deputy Joshua Moyers both remember their colleague as someone who wanted to make the world a better place for the people around him.
On Friday, Sgt. Trevor Zittrower and Lt. Brian Blackwell both laid a wreath at Moyers’ cruiser, which has become a memorial filled with flowers, cards and messages for the fallen deputy.
Moyers, 29, was shot and killed during a traffic stop one week ago. Following a dayslong manhunt, Patrick McDowell, the man suspected of shooting him, was arrested.
Since Moyers death, there is a noticeable void at the Sheriff’s Office.
“We refer to our shifts as teams, and we are more family than teams,” explained Blackwell. “There is not a person on this family that’s gonna not recognize that he wont be here any more.”
Blackwell and Zittrower were Moyers’ shift supervisors.
“There’s not one word to put what we miss the most. It’s just an obvious presence that won’t be there,” said Blackwell.
They were among the hundreds searching for McDowell, who was captured Tuesday.
“I feel like I had a pressure on my chest and felt relieved,” Zittrower said of the arrest.
“Once we heard he was in custody and everyone was OK, it was a relief for us,” Blackwell said.
Now, both of these deputies will hold on to fond memories of Moyers.
“Funny, loving, happy,” Blackwell said. “He was always smiling, so just an all around good guy. Someone you would want to be around.”
“A man that grew up in this community and told me everyday that he wanted to make his hometown safer,” Zittrower said. “His level of service to the community was out of this world.”
A commitment to the community that his fellow brothers will carry on for Moyers as they wait for justice.
Grief counseling and therapy is being offered for the entire staff of the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. They’re thanking the community for the support, which they say that keeps them going, too.
“The outpouring of support from our community has been unreal,” Blackwell said. “It’s a very tragic situation, but it’s very impressive to see this community come together, to see this agency come together, law enforcement as a whole come together for this, and thank you won’t ever do it justice, but that’s all that we have at this point.”
The funeral service for Moyers at First Baptist Church of Callahan, scheduled for Saturday morning, is not open to the general public. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to be made to NCSO Charities Inc.