An off-duty Volusia County sheriff's deputy who intervened when a neighbor's fight spilled onto his property took a knife to the lower back when he shielded a man from a woman who was trying to stab him.
- Capt. Cliff Williams treated at hospital after being stabbed
- Police say Brittany Bonin faces charges
- Williams shielded man from woman trying to stab him
Capt. Cliff Williams, a more than 25-year veteran of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, suffered a non-life-threatening injury in the incident around 4:20 p.m. Saturday on Pine Tree Drive in Edgewater.
He was treated at a local hospital.
Edgewater police charged Brittany Bonin with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer.
She is also accused of setting fire to the house where the fight started, police said.
Williams started with the Sheriff’s Office in 1989 after serving in the United States Marine Corps. His career included assignments on road patrol, in the courthouse, as a recruiter, in internal affairs and as a watch commander.
Williams retired in 2014, but came back in 2015 as director of the PAL program.
Sheriff Mike Chitwood said he was proud to hear that Williams had stepped in to help put a stop to the fight.
"It just goes to show you are never truly off duty," the sheriff said. "He took a knife wound that was meant for someone else because his instinct was to step in as a protector. I'm not surprised he did — he’s proven and tough, and that’s what our men and women are trained to do."