HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – In light of the incident on Thursday in Brandon, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office would like to share a donation page established to support Corporal Brito and Deputy Santos during their recovery.
The funds raised through the Lynn Sowers Memorial Foundation will go towards covering medical expenses, rehabilitation, and any additional support needed for them and their families.
“During these challenging times, our hearts go out to Deputy Santos, Corporal Britos, and their families. Their dedication to the safety of our community has left them with critical injuries, and we stand united in our collective hope for their swift recovery,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister, “We are immensely grateful for their courage and as a community, we must rally together to support them on their journey to healing.”
We have included a link to the donation site here.
According to deputies, on Thursday, the HCSO Communications Center received a call at 7:44 a.m. from a woman stating that she was in fear of her son, who was behaving violently at their home in Brandon, located on Dexwell Court.
Read: Watch: Body-Cam Video Released Of Crazed Florida Man Crashing Into Deputies
When the deputies arrived, they came into contact with Ralph Bouzy, 28, who was in the driver’s seat of a vehicle in the driveway of his home. Deputies tried to make contact with him, expressing they were there to help, but Bouzy refused to speak to them and drove away.
Just after 8:00 a.m., Bouzy returned to the scene, deliberately ambushing the deputies there. He accelerated his vehicle as he turned onto Dexwell Court, causing a deputy to jump out of the way to avoid being hit.
Bouzy then continued to speed towards two deputies standing outside of their marked patrol SUV, violently colliding with both deputies.
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“There is no other way to describe this other than an ambush,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “Our deputies put their lives on the line every day to protect this community and what happened today makes me absolutely sick.”
The two deputies involved were Corporal Carlos Brito, 39, and Deputy Manuel Santos, 31. Both sustained serious, critical injuries and are receiving treatment at Tampa General Hospital.
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