The Situation

On Wednesday night, February 25, 2026, in Pahokee, Florida, a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy was hit by a vehicle while securing a shooting scene. The driver then got out with a handgun and, according to the sheriff, tried to shoot the injured deputy on the ground. The deputy fired, a detective also fired, and the suspect was killed.

The deputy survived with a compound fracture of the ankle. Two men had been killed earlier that night, and a third man was wounded. Our thoughts are with their families and with the deputy and his colleagues.

What Happened

As reported by CBS12 from Sheriff Ric Bradshaw's account:

  • At 10:12 p.m., a shooting call came in on Booker Place, where two men were found dead. A second shooting at a Doveland Drive residence hurt no one. At 10:18 p.m., a man was shot at a convenience store and was expected to survive.
  • While deputies secured the Doveland Drive scene, a deputy was putting up crime scene tape. The suspect drove in, accelerated, left the roadway, and hit the deputy, knocking him about 40 feet.
  • The suspect got out with a 9mm handgun, walked toward the deputy, and tried to shoot him. The deputy fired, and a detective helping secure the scene also fired. The suspect was killed. He is believed responsible for the earlier shootings.
  • The deputy was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach.

"The deputy is very, very fortunate that the initial strike with the vehicle didn't kill him," Bradshaw said. "But he showed a great deal of courage, a great deal of stamina to get his gun out and neutralize this guy before he could shoot him on the ground."

FDLE, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, and PBSO's Violent Crimes Division are investigating.

What we don't know: Nothing released describes the deputy's other injuries, if any, the care he got at the scene, or how he was transported. We're not going to guess.

The Tactical Medical Lesson

The documented facts: a multi-scene shooting with the suspect still mobile, a deputy doing perimeter work, a vehicle used as a weapon, and an injured deputy who still had to fight. What follows are general principles, not findings about this incident.

1. A crime scene isn't cold while the shooter is still loose. Perimeter work during an active series of shootings is exposed work, and someone should be watching the approaches.

2. The first fight may happen from the ground, injured. Training that starts only once the threat is gone skips the hardest part.

3. Vehicle strikes are a blunt-trauma problem. Most tactical medical training centers on gunshot wounds. Someone thrown by a vehicle may have injuries you can't see: head, spine, chest, abdomen, pelvis. Treat the mechanism, not just the visible wound.

4. Open fractures still start with bleeding control. Stop major bleeding, cover the wound, then splint. The Joint Trauma System's Orthopaedic Trauma: Extremity Fractures CPG (ID 56) says suspected fractures should be splinted once life-threatening injuries have been addressed, calls for documenting neurologic and vascular status, and lists a pelvic binder as indicated for severe lower-extremity or pelvic injury.

5. Pelvic injury is on the list for high-energy mechanisms. The JTS Pelvic Fracture Care CPG (ID 34), updated on February 17, 2026, describes placing a binder or sheet centered over the greater trochanters. Whether any binder was needed here is unknown. Your officers should know when one might be.

TECC/TCCC Relevance

Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC), the civilian framework maintained by C-TECC, orders care by threat: deal with the threat first, then treat. Here the injured deputy had to handle the threat himself.

Military Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) uses the same order: splinting and a full assessment wait until the threat is controlled. For civilian law enforcement, apply that logic within local EMS protocols. The JTS Damage Control Resuscitation CPG (ID 18) adds the time pressure: get the critically injured casualty to the highest available level of care as fast as possible.

What Your Agency Should Do Now

  • Add vehicle-strike casualties to scenario training. Make responders assess the whole body, not just the obvious wound.
  • Train shooting from the ground with a simulated lower-leg injury, then transition to self-aid and a radio call.
  • Practice open-fracture care: bleeding control, wound coverage, improvised and commercial splints, and checks for pulse and sensation.
  • Put pelvic binders or a sheet method into training for high-energy blunt mechanisms, and match your EMS protocols.
  • Treat scene security during an active series of shootings as a threat task. Assign someone to watch the approaches while others work the scene.

Bottom Line

A deputy was run down doing routine scene work, then had to stop an armed attacker before anyone could reach him. The gunfire got the headlines. The blunt trauma is what most medical training skips.

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