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In Memoriam
Chad Reed, 238th Session, killed in the line of duty.
It is with great sorrow to share that Chad Reed, a graduate of the 238th Session was killed in the line of duty attempting to apprehend a double murder suspect. Not only did we have this murder but another Deputy that morning working for St. Johns County Sheriff David Shoar (also an NA grad) was killed when he was hit head on in his vehicle.
Please keep these families in your prayers.
Dixie Sheriff's Captain Dies in Gunfight on U.S. 19
Chad Reed was killed after being shot by a homicide suspect.
By Karen Voyles
Staff writers Published: Friday, January 15, 2010 at 6:01 a.m.
Dixie County Sheriff's Capt. Chad Reed died Thursday night after he was shot in a gunfight with a Hernando County homicide suspect who was tracked into Dixie County.
Reed was shot late Thursday afternoon and died Thursday evening in Shands at the University of Florida. Sheriff Dewey Hatcher confirmed the death.
The suspect, identified as John Kalisz, 55, also was shot and airlifted to Shands. His condition was not available.
Reed and other deputies tried to apprehend Kalisz, who was wanted on accusations that he shot four people, two of them fatally, in Hernando County, authorities said.
Around 3 p.m. Thursday, Kalisz was involved in the shooting of four people, two of whom are his relatives, near Brooksville, authorities said.
Hernando County Sheriff's Sgt. Donna Black said Kalisz went to a home near Brooksville and fatally shot two elderly women. He also shot a younger woman and a girl believed to be pregnant, Black said.
Black said a motive is not known but said it was domestic in nature. Kalisz is the uncle of one of the victims, Black said.
While fleeing Hernando County, Kalisz was tracked via his cell phone, Black said. A sheriff's helicopter then began following him, Black said. Kalisz told his brother he would shoot any deputy who tried to stop him, Black said.
Hernando authorities notified law enforcement agencies along Kalisz's path, she added.
Hatcher said authorities were notified that Kalisz was heading toward Dixie County on U.S. 19. Deputies spotted the car and followed it to a gas station in Cross City. The shooting of Capt. Reed and Kalisz happened there, Hatcher said.
"Some of my guys intercepted the vehicle and were following it. We were trying to stage enough people to do a traffic stop," Hatcher said. "When the guy gets to Cross City, he pulls into a gas station. My officers approached the vehicle. They exchange fire. My captain was shot, and the suspect was also shot."
Hatcher said he didn't know where the shot hit Reed, though witnesses at the scene told The Sun the wound was to Reed's face. Witnesses said it was not clear exactly where Kalisz had been hit.
Black said Hernando sheriff's personnel were heading to North Central Florida on Thursday night.
According to county emergency workers and dispatch records, both men were taken by ambulances to emergency landing zones before being airlifted to the trauma unit at Shands. Paramedics at the scene determined both men were in critical condition with potentially life-threatening injuries.
County emergency service director Tim Alexander said Reed was taken to Trenton, where a medical helicopter from Taylor County picked him up.
Kalisz was taken to the landing zone in Old Town, where he was picked up by a medical helicopter from Lake City and then flown to Shands.
Reed is survived by his wife, Holly, two young sons and a large extended family in Dixie County.
He had spent his entire career working for the county, serving as a volunteer firefighter, paramedic, emergency services director and at the Sheriff's Office.
Reed's death is the first death in the line of duty in Dixie County in decades.
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