Injured Orange City policeman thankful, hopeful

BEACON PHOTO/AL EVERSON
Grateful to be alive — Wearing sunglasses to shield his sensitive eyes, Orange City Police Officer Sherif El-Shami talks publicly about his injury in the line of duty and his hope for the future. El-Shami, whose eyes were damaged by flying glass from a bullet fired into his patrol car last week, was joined by his mother, Shirley, and Police Chief Jeff Baskoff, as he expressed thanks for the outpouring of cards, letters, e-mails and donations supporting him during his stay at Halifax Health Medical Center. El-Shami faces an uncertain recovery time. He has no vision in his left eye, and only partial vision in his right.

BEACON PHOTO/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN
Arsenal — Here is some of the weaponry the Sheriff's Office found inside 1651 E. University Ave. in Orange City. The homeowner, Cindy Henderson, and her boyfriend, Brian Randolph Langford, were found dead inside March 25, the apparent victims of a murder-suicide.

BEACON PHOTO/MARSHA MCLAUGHLIN
Arsenal — Members of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office show members of the news media some of the weaponry they found inside 1651 E. University Ave., where Officer Sherif El-Shami was injured.

Hopes to regain full sight in right eye

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Mar 30, 2009 - 5:10:08pm

Still recovering from surgery to save his vision, the Orange City police officer injured in a crime spree last week appeared in public to thank all those who had supported him.

On the day he was released from Halifax Health Medical Center, a cautiously upbeat Officer Sherif El-Shami called a brief news conference in the Orange City Town Hall Annex.

"I thought it would be good to write something down, but I couldn't read it," El-Shami said, as he faced television cameras and reporters Sunday afternoon, March 29.

"The first five days — it's been hard. I have had my family," he said.

His mother, Shirley, and Orange City Police Chief Jeff Baskoff stood by him.

"At this time, I do not have any vision in my left eye," El-Shami said.

El-Shami is 25 years old. A 2002 graduate of Deltona High School, he's been with the Orange City Police Department since 2007.

He described the vision in his right eye as "blurry," but said more treatment and surgery are probably in the offing. He plans to consult with eye specialists and surgeons about his options.

"I thank God I'm here today," El-Shami said.

Although he declined to speculate on the time needed for a recovery, El-Shami said he can't wait to get back to work as a police officer.

"This is what I love to do," he said. "Not a lot of people can say that about their work. Is it dangerous? Yeah."

El-Shami declined to discuss the shooting.

"I'm not going to go into any of the details today, because it's still traumatic," he said

El-Shami's eyes and face were damaged by flying glass from a bullet fired into his patrol car March 25. The officer had been dispatched to 1651 E. University Ave. to check on a resident who had reportedly made suicidal comments to his ex-wife at her workplace in Lake Helen.

The East University Avenue address is in the unincorporated area just outside Orange City. A Volusia County deputy sheriff had also been dispatched to conduct a well-being check on Bryan Randolph Langford. El-Shami was to serve as a backup for the deputy, but he arrived on the scene first.

Unbeknownst to El-Shami, a well-armed gunman waited inside the house.

Langford, 38, fired on El-Shami's car. El-Shami, though injured, was able to back his patrol car farther from the house. The deputy had arrived by then, and was able to provide cover while another Orange City officer, Sgt. Greg Lariscy, arrived on the scene, pulled El-Shami out of his car, and took him to Florida Hospital-Fish Memorial.

El-Shami was later transferred to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

While El-Shami was being treated, law-enforcement personnel from several agencies conducted an intensive search for Langford and surrounded the home.

Later that day, Langford was found dead inside, along with his girlfriend, Cindy Henderson. Henderson's son, Louis Adams, lay dead in a bar in Deltona.

Langford, according to investigators, killed himself after killing Adams and Henderson, who owned the Deltona bar, Dixie's Pub.

Inside the home, lawmen found an arsenal that included semiautomatic rifles, a .50-caliber sniper's rife, shotguns and pistols, and large quantities of ammunition.

Asked about the weaponry he had unknowingly faced, El-Shami replied, "I don't think anybody should have stuff like that. ... This is Orange City. This is not Iraq."

He did acknowledge the constitutional "right to keep and bear arms."

El-Shami's mother had flown from Alexandria, Egypt, to be at her son's bedside at Halifax Health Medical Center.

"I'm just truly proud of him. I thank God he's here," she said.

When her plane landed in Orlando, she was escorted by Orlando Police and deputies of Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties to Halifax.

"Thank you for your prayers and support," El-Shami concluded.

The wounding of El-Shami in the line of duty is a first in the history of the Orange City Police Department, Baskoff said.

— al@beacononlinenews.com

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