Florida

Florida Officer Dies 55 Days After Being Shot on Patrol

Jason Raynor joined the Daytona Beach department in 2019 and previously had worked for the Port Orange Police Department

WESH-TV

A Florida police officer has died 55 days after being shot in the head while on patrol. Prosecutors will now seek the death penalty against the alleged shooter.

The Daytona Beach Police Department said in a tweetthat Officer Jason Raynor died on Tuesday. He had been in a hospital since being shot June 23 by a man he was trying to question in the parking lot of an apartment building, according to a charging affidavit.

Raynor and other officers were in the area after complaints from citizens about crime there.

Othal Wallace, already jailed without bail in the shooting, is now charged with first-degree murder and prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty.

“We will proceed with our solemn mission to hold Officer Jason Raynor's murderer accountable," said State Attorney R.J. Larizza in a news release. “Justice equals accountability and justice demands the death penalty.”

A hearing was set Wednesday afternoon on the new charges against Wallace. His attorney, an assistant public defender, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Raynor joined the Daytona Beach department in 2019 and previously had worked for the Port Orange Police Department. He was one of three Port Orange officers who on Dec. 5, 2018, responded to a report of a woman threatening to jump off a bridge, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. The officers talked the woman down, and Raynor was honored for his heroism in helping to save the woman.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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