Man who Killed Fla. Deputy Hours from Retiring Gets 45 Years

A deputy hours away from retiring was killed when a naked man intentionally rammed into his patrol car during a chase, Florida authorities said.

Prosecutors announced March 25 that 32-year-old Travis Garrett took a plea deal and has now been sentenced to 45 years in prison following the 2021 killing of Brian LaVigne, a 30-year veteran of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

Garrett’s attorney declined to comment to McClatchy News.

LaVigne was co-workers with his daughter, who said she was inspired from a young age to follow in her dad’s footsteps and become a deputy, the agency said.

“I wanted to do what he did for people,” his daughter said in a tribute shared by the sheriff’s office. “I wanted to make people feel like he made them feel. There’s no words to describe how much of a good influence he was on people.”

LaVigne, a master corporal at the time of his death, was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant.

The sheriff’s office described him as “a man who had a fierce passion for teaching, loved his career as a public servant and above all else his family was his top priority.”

Last day on the job

Deputies received two calls about Garrett causing disturbances at an apartment complex on Jan. 11, 2021, but the first time, they came and went, finding no cause to arrest him, deputies wrote in a news release.

Later that day, the apartment management called again to report a naked man was “acting erratically,” yelling and breaking glass at the complex, authorities said.

When deputies arrived for the second time, they tried to speak to Garrett, but he ignored them, instead walking over to his vehicle and putting something in his trunk, deputies said. They tried to take him into custody, then he punched one of the deputies multiple times in the head as another deputy used a Taser, according to an arrest affidavit.

Garrett wasn’t subdued after deputies used their stun guns twice, so he proceeded to get in his vehicle and drive off, authorities said. Deputies started chasing him, while others responded to the area to block traffic, according to the report.

LaVigne was parked in the area in his patrol vehicle with the emergency lights on, but he wasn’t “participating in the pursuit nor in the attempted apprehension of the suspect,” deputies wrote in the affidavit.

Garrett saw LaVigne, crossed two lanes of traffic and accelerated straight toward the corporal as another deputy yelled over the radio, “He’s aiming for your car, get out of the way,” according to the report.

Garrett smashed into LaVigne’s car at about 76 mph, trapping him inside, investigators said. LaVigne died at a hospital, and Garrett was paralyzed, according to authorities.

He was found to have cocaine and marijuana in his system at the time of the incident, deputies said.

Prosecution

Garrett was charged with first-degree murder, DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, felony criminal mischief, aggravated fleeing to elude and two counts each of battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence, deputies said.

Garrett’s attorney filed notice to rely upon insanity defense, citing his struggles with biploar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, documents show. His attorney said Garrett didn’t understand what he was doing at the time.

Prosecutors with the State Attorney’s Office for the 13th Judicial Circuit said LaVigne’s family preferred a plea deal to a “painful trial.”

Hillsborough County includes the Tampa Bay area.

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