FORT MYERS, Fla-- Sheriff Mike Scott took to the LCSO Facebook page Wednesday morning to praise the man who saved Deputy Dean Bardes life. Deputy Bardes was working a crash along I-75 Monday morning when Edward Strother nearly ran over the deputy in his car, causing deputy Bardes to chase Strother in his marked car to the I-75 and Corkscrew Road exit.
"Earlier this week, two heroes met on I-75 and while they had never met before, one would save the others life," Scott wrote in the post.
As witnesses watched Strother attack Bardes, one passerby, who wishes to remain anonymous pulled over and tried stopping the attack. The man is a Concealed Weapons Permit holder and after failed attempts at getting Strother to stop, he shot Strother and ultimately killed him.
"In a day and age where race is a near instant focus for media and other pundits in police incidents, the fact is that this hero happened to be a man of color who stopped another man of color from further harming or killing a white cop; thereby reminding us that black lives matter, blue lives matter, and indeed all life matters," said Scott.
Sheriff Scott said above all he wanted to thank the hero "that recognized the imminent threat, rushed to deputy Bardes' aid and ultimately stopped the threat."
